House of the Reaper
by BoomShroom
Summary: Ten Mario characters have been trapped in a seemingly normal house. However, when a figure known only as the Reaper informs them that the only way out is to overcome various trials, trials that put their very lives at stake, they must band together in order to escape. Along the way, they will experience trauma, suffering, and sacrifice. But is freedom truly worth it?
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this is just a story that came out of seemingly nowhere. Either way, I was pretty excited about it as ideas kept flowing, so the first chapter just came to me like **_**that**_**. Anyways, enough of my rambling. Enjoy the story!**

**House of the Reaper**

Koops awoke, his eyes slowly fluttering, but quickly shooting open the next moment. He sat bolt upright and looked around himself.  
This wasn't his house. It was old and run down, wall paper peeling off the walls and the images of portraits long faded hanging on the walls. The other decor reminded him of what one would find in their grandparents' house. Plain flowers were placed in generic vases on tiny tables that seemed designed specifically for them. The curtains over the window were navy blue with white pinpricks adorning its surface. The blankets on his bed were identical.  
He gasped when he saw a figure lying beside him. She mumbled and turned toward him, her eyes closed. She was obviously asleep.  
Even though Koops had never seen the Goomba girl in his life, she looked extremely cute. Her blond hair was tied back in a pony tail and she wore a red neckerchief that complimented her pink skin. What was odd, however, was that she was wearing a miner's helmet. Why would one wear that to bed?  
He examined himself and ate his own words. He was in his usual attire, a blue hoodie, green pants, and white shoes.  
_'I know I didn't fall asleep in my regular clothes._' he thought. _'Or...did I? I can't seem to remember anything about last night.'__  
_Now he was worried. He had woken up in a strange place, certain memories missing from his head. It was odd, but he could remember some things, but not others. For example, he could remember all of the furniture in his room, but when he tried to remember the Koopa girl who was smiling in the picture on his bedside table, he couldn't recall anything. It was as if someone had erased the more personal parts of his memories.  
He looked around again and pinched himself for good measure. Nope, he was not dreaming. He turned back to the Goomba girl who was smiling happily, a strand of drool dripping from her mouth. Now that he took a good look at her, she did seem a bit familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.  
Koops poked her gently on the cheek and she grumbled. He did so again and her eyes slowly opened.  
"Whuh?" she asked hazily.  
"Hello?" Koops asked timidly. "I, uh, could use some help. You see, I-"  
The girl shrieked and backed away from him. "Get away from me! What are you doing in my home!?"  
Koops raised his hands in defense. "I-I'm sorry! I don't know how I got here, but I swear, I don't know what's going on! This is your home?"  
The girl looked away from him for a moment, inspecting her surroundings. "Well, now that you mention it, I don't recognize this place." She quickly returned to her accusatory state, however. "But what's your deal, huh? Why were you sleeping with me, you creep!?"  
Now it was Kooper's turn to retreat as the Goomba advanced on him, threatening him with a lamp. "L-look, I don't know what I'm doing here! Please, don't hurt me!"  
The door to the room flung open and another person charged in. The door smacked Koops and sent him to the floor, clutching his head in pain.  
"All right, what's the deal!" a very angry Koopaling shouted. "Why am I in this crappy place, and why can't I remember stuff?"  
A tall monkey followed him in. "Yeah, and why were you in bed with me, weirdo? I want some answers."  
"Who are _you_ guys?" the Goomba girl exclaimed.  
The Koopaling with the sunglasses smirked. "Well, well, well. At least I know that there are two cute girls around here. Maybe it's not all bad."  
Two more figures entered the room, one a blue fairy, the other a green dinosaur.  
"What's going on?" the green dinosaur questioned. "We heard voices coming from here, so we came running."  
"Why can't I hover?" the blue fairy complained, hopping up and down, but failing to float. "I was always able to do that before. Why not now? And why were you in my bed, you lizard?"  
"Where are you all coming from?" the Goomba shrieked exasperatedly.  
Yet again, another pair entered the room, this one consisting of a female Toad and an elderly Bob-omb. They were closely followed by giant ape and mouse wearing a mask.  
"Anyone have any idea what's happening?" the ape questioned.  
"Why was I sleeping with a monkey?" the mouse asked.  
The Koopaling sighed and face palmed. "Seriously, why are all of you chicks so hung up on that? Never woken up next to some random guy before?"  
The female Toad spoke up. "Seriously, what's happening? Is this some kind of reality TV show or something?"  
Voices rose and struggled to speak over one another, creating bedlam as everyone tried to yell over each other.  
"QUIET!" Koops yelled, a headache making him turn sour. The others fell silent and stared at him, expecting him to say more.  
"Well?" the fairy asked. "Care to explain what's going on?"  
Koops scratched his head and answered sheepishly, "I, uh...I don't really know either...I just wanted you all to stop yelling..."  
"Whatever, turtle boy. Go back to lying on the ground like a little pussy if you aren't gonna help, 'kay?"  
"Hey, don't talk to him like that." the Toad reprimanded. "He didn't do anything wrong."  
"Make me."  
"Let's calm down, people. Just calm down." the dino said, stepping between them. "Let's at least learn each other's names fist. I'll start. My name is Yoshi. What's your name?"  
"Toadette." the Toad responded. "And you?"  
"Jojora." the blue fairy said unenthusiastically. "But don't bother remembering it since I don't plan on sticking around with you losers."  
Yoshi rolled his eyes and turned to the ape. "Who might you be?"  
"My name is Donkey Kong, but my friends call me DK. I guess you can too."  
"And you?"  
"Bobbery." the old Bobomb replied simply, his voice gruff.  
"Might I ask your name?"  
"I am Mz. Mowz." the white mouse said. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."  
"And your name?"  
"I'm Tiny Kong." the female monkey said. Then she turned to DK. "I don't think we're related, but you do seem...familiar."  
He nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. Maybe a coincidence?"  
Tiny shrugged, thinking carefully.  
Yoshi turned to the Koopaling. He stated his name, knowing the drill by now. "I'm Roy. Like Jojora said, there's no point in remembering it. As soon as this little ice breaker is over, I am OUT."  
"I'm Goombella." the Goomba said, eyeing the others suspiciously.  
"I'm Koops." Koops said, still rubbing the back of his head.  
"Well, what now?" Toadette asked.  
"How about we try to find out what the hell is going on?" Jojora snapped sarcastically.  
Toadette glared at her in response, but Yoshi spoke up before a fight could break out. "Okay, let's just look around this place. I mean, none of us really know what's going on or where we are, right? Might as well explore."  
The others agreed half heartedly. They all left the room, feeling extremely awkward, surrounded by strangers.  
They ended up in a long hallway lit by light bulbs in fancy glass containers. The wall paper was peeling here as well, but not nearly as much as in the bedrooms, this color being green instead. Many doors were on either side of the hallway, providing them with tons of opportunities to explore.  
They skipped the rooms that they had each woken up in since they all seemed to be the same. Conveniently, they were all located at the end of the hall and all were near each other.  
They reached the first door after the bedrooms and decided to open it. Tiny was the first one to it. She pushed and tried to turn the knob with all her might, but the regular, brown door would not budge.  
"Why won't it open? Can someone help out?"  
Donkey Kong stepped forward. "It probably just needs a bit of muscle." he said, trying his best to open it as well. "Just a little...elbow grease..."  
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, the door refused to open.  
Mz. Mowz sighed and gently pushed him out of the way. "I think I might be of better use here. Brute force doesn't seem to be getting you anywhere."  
She produced a hair pin seemingly out of thin air and inserted it into the key hole. As she was tampering with the lock, Roy whistled.  
"Damn, girl. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a thief."  
She smirked, not pausing from her work. "Looks can be deceiving."  
Suddenly, a bright light flashed and Mz. Mowz fell backwards, shrieking in pain.  
"Whoa! Are you alright?" Yoshi asked, bending down next to her. She nodded and he helped her up, her hair standing on end.  
"It was an electric shock." Bobbery said. "I don't know about you guys, but I think we should refrain from pickin' any more locks. All these doors might be booby-trapped."  
The other members of the group nodded and continued on, trying to enter each door normally as they went, but met with unsuccessfulness after each attempt.  
Koops glanced at Goombella. He just couldn't shake the feeling that he had met her somewhere. He didn't remember her at all, but she felt familiar. Had she been erased from his memories as well as anyone else he had held dear? Did she feel the same thing around him?  
Her eyes met his and she frowned. "What do you want?"  
"Um...n-nothing..." he mumbled. They hadn't gotten off to a good start and he didn't want to make things worse.  
Eventually, the party made it to the end of the hall, every door remaining unopened. However, there was a flight of stairs leading downstairs.  
"I guess we descend, huh?" Koops said, more to himself than anyone else.  
The ten people walked down the staircase, but one of them was having trouble.  
"Would you guys slow down?" Jojora pleaded. "I'm not used to walking, and stairs are tricky!"  
"How can you not be used to walking?" Tiny asked incredulously. "It's so basic!"  
"Well excuuuuuse me, princess! I usually hover over the ground, so it's not a problem for me. However, some ass hat decided to turn up the gravity or something, so I can't float."  
The others rolled their eyes, but made sure she could keep up with them.  
Soon, they were at the bottom of the staircase and what seemed to be the foyer. Again, there was more of the same type of furniture.  
"Look!" Toadette exclaimed, pointing towards the front door. They ran to it and tried to force it open, but weren't surprised to find it locked as well.  
"Damn." Roy sighed. "It just couldn't be that easy, could it?"  
"Hey, has anyone tried looking out the windows?"  
DK's question took a moment to sink in. Then everyone pressed their faces against the nearest window, shoving each other out of the way for a glimpse.  
It was pitch black. There was nothing to see outside except...nothing. It wasn't black as if someone had splashed paint over the glass or put a black sheet over it. It was just...black and empty, but three dimensional, like the darkest night imaginable. That's what truly scared them.  
"I don't like this..." Tiny moaned.  
Yoshi turned around and spotted another room. "Hey, let's go check there."  
The others followed him and the entered the living room.  
Arm chairs and couches were scattered around, and, without much of a thought, the ten confused people sat in them. Before they could discuss what they were thinking, a figure darted out from behind Toadette's chair. It stopped in the center of the room and the others stared, dumbfounded, at it.  
It was a small, humanoid shaped person, about the size of a nine year old. It wore a black cloak with a hood that fell over its head to meet its mask.  
The white mask was unsettling, to say the least. Two large, black circles were where its eyes should have been, and no one could tell if they were just painted on or actual holes. A toothy, skeletal smile was where its mouth was, the perpetual grin embedding itself in their minds.  
It behaved very strangely. It made small giggling noises and twitched every so often. Then it would freeze entirely, wait a minute or two, and then go back to snickering.  
The party became more creeped out by the second, until another figure stepped out of the shadows.  
This one looked exactly like the Grim Reaper. Tall, black hood, scythe. There was nothing about him that didn't make him look like the Reaper himself.  
"Greetings." he said in a chilling voice. "I am the Reaper. This is Mischief. We welcome you to The House of the Reaper."  
He gave an elaborate bow and Mischief applauded him, dancing around on his stubby legs and laughing like a mad man.  
He then turned back to the ten people. "I assume you are all wondering why you are here."  
Roy slammed his hands onto the arm rests and stood up, pointing at the Reaper accusingly. "You're the one who brought us here, huh? Well, hardy-har-har, what a great prank! Now take us home, asshole."  
The Reaper signaled him to sit down again, not answering him until he did so. When Roy, reluctantly, reclaimed his seat, the Reaper continued. "I assure you, this is no prank. This is entirely real, and the challenges you will face will test you physically, mentally, and psychologically."  
Jojora interrupted him. "Yeah, right, and I'm the tooth fairy. Listen, I don't want to participate in whatever stupid game show this is. Just let me go home."  
"Silence!" the Reaper shouted, startling everyone. This was enough to keep both Jojora and Roy quiet.  
"This is real. Many of you might not survive the next few hours. But if you want to leave this place with your life, you will have to take on whatever awaits you with your team. Only by working together can you survive."  
"Working together? With her?" Toadette scoffed, pointing to Jojora. "I'd rather not."  
"Yeah, what kind of game show are you running here, anyway?" DK joked, looking around him. "I don't see any hidden cameras!"  
The Reaper slammed the end of his scythe to the ground, clearly annoyed. "Perhaps I should show you how real this is."  
In his skeletal hand appeared a bloody, beating heart. The others stared at it with expressions of distaste on their faces. However, one of them was very worried.  
Koops put his hand to his chest. Sure enough, where he had felt his heart racing just moments ago, he felt no beat. He felt empty.  
The Reaper touched the tip of his scythe ever so slightly to the heart, so they were barely touching.  
Koops cried out in pain and clutched his chest, drawing everyone's attention. He fell off of his chair and some people rushed to help him.  
"Oh, god, what's wrong?" Tiny screamed.  
"Is he having a heart attack?" Mz. Mowz asked.  
Bobbery slowly came to a realization, turning to the Reaper as he did so. "That's impossible...you sunuvabitch..."  
He almost seemed to smile from behind his hood. He bent down to where Mischief was rolling on the ground and patted his head. "Do you believe me now? Your lives are quite literally in my hands. Or should I say your hands?"  
"What do you mean?" Goombella asked, worry rising in her voice as she watched Koops heave and gasp for air.  
The Reaper dropped Koops's heart on the ground and let his scythe fall as well. The point of the scythe was about to hit the heart, impaling it and ending Koops's life.  
Yoshi dived just in time and caught it before it could come in contact with the organ. He lifted it up higher, glaring at the Reaper. "Who do you think you are? You think you can toy with our lives?"  
The Reaper chuckled. "Yes, I do. You seem eager to start, so let me explain the rules."  
"First of all, you will all be working as a team. Your primary objective is to find a way out of this house. You will need to work together to solve various puzzles and overcome many obstacles that will stand in your way. Don't be fooled by appearances. This house has more than what meets the eye."  
"Secondly, I suppose I should explain Hearts under the Scythe. My scythe will remain here, positioned above one of your hearts. You will be unable to move the scythe, and it will continually gravitate to the heart, threatening to pierce it. You are not allowed to move the heart, or its owner will die instantly. Holding it, however, is not as easy as it sounds. Not only is it a test of psychical skill, but the images you will see will affect your mind state as well. You may switch with someone else whenever you want, but know that the heart will randomly switch as well. You will never know whose life is on the line, so be careful if you hold the scythe. It is a big responsibility." he chuckled at the last part. "You should know that this will keep at least one player from participating in the puzzles and trials that await you. Maybe two, if you choose to keep a back up scythe bearer with them in case they can't hold it anymore."  
"This isn't happening...this isn't happening...this isn't happening..." Tiny muttered to herself, smacking her face to try and wake herself up from the nightmare.  
"That should be all you need to know." the Reaper concluded. He ducked when a fist flew by his head.  
Roy was fuming next to him. "You bastard! You think you can mess with us? Fuck you!" Roy threw another punch, but the Reaper caught his arm and twisted it behind his back. Mischief cheered and jumped onto his face, scratching at it furiously. It would have been comical to see the jerk being clawed at by the midget, but their situation was anything but funny.  
The Reaper pushed him back to his seat and he wiped the blood off his scratched face, Mischief's dirty nails doing quite a bit of damage.  
"I do not mess around." the Reaper warned. "You WILL partake in this, or you can wait around and die. It's your choice."  
With that, he and Mischief vanished, leaving the others wondering what to do.  
"Why is he doing this...?" Toadette asked to no one in particular, shaking her head and breathing heavily.  
The nine 'players' sat in silence for a few minutes before Yoshi spoke up.  
"Hey guys? He was right. This isn't as easy as it looks. Can someone else take this for a bit?"  
When no one volunteered, DK stepped forward and took the scythe in his hands, allowing Yoshi to let go. As soon as he did, the heart underneath it changed shape and size slightly. He let out a huge sigh and thanked him.  
"Okay." he addressed everyone. "I say we all put our heads together and think. What should we do first?"  
"Say our final words before we die..." Jojora muttered pessimistically, her head rested in her hand.  
"Who made you leader?" Roy snarled. Yoshi hadn't done anything to him, but he was obviously trying to find someone to turn his wrath on.  
Yoshi sighed. "Look, we have to work together if we're gonna get through this."  
Nobody responded in a positive manner. They either sighed in defeat or refused to meet his eyes, accepting their fate.  
Yoshi shook his head, crestfallen.  
They were doomed.

**This chapter actually didn't turn out the way I had expected. It seemed a bit more comical than I had intended, and nothing really horrific happened in it. Ah well, that'll change in later chapters.**

**Anyways, please review and tell me what you think. Also, tell me who you want to survive.**


	2. Chapter 2

House of the Reaper

Survivors:

Koops

Roy

Yoshi

DK

Bobbery

Goombella

Tiny

Toadette

Jojora

Ms. Mowz

Toadette rose from her position on the couch and stood next to Yoshi, addressing the others. "Yoshi's right. We need to start thinking of a way out of here. Anyone care to help us?"

One by one, the others rose, murmuring agreements. The last two were Roy and Jojora.

"Fine, since I've got nothin' else to do..." Roy grumbled.

"All right." Yoshi said, his hopes rising as each person joined him. "Now let's look around. There might be some clues or something that'll help us hidden around here."

Without another word, the ten members of the group dispersed, searching the house for anything useful.

Tiny, Koops, and Yoshi looked through the kitchen.

The style was the same as the rest of the house. The tables and counter were clean, only dust marring their surfaces. The sink was filled with water and Tiny pulled the drain. Unfortunately, it didn't reveal any secrets. Yoshi looked through the pantry, moving cans and boxes out of his way as he searched for anything noteworthy.

The timid Koopa opened the refrigerator, recoiling as soon as he did so. Mischief had jumped out and nearly crashed into his face. He scampered away, a milk carton cradled in his arms.

"Little freak!" Goombella spat as he dashed by her. She then turned to the three investigating the kitchen. "You guys found anything yet?"

They shook their heads. Goombella sighed and returned to the living room where Ms. Mowz, Toadette, and Roy were helping her search, DK bearing the scythe for the rest of the team.

"Damn, he wasn't kidding. This is tough." DK struggled to lift up the scythe, and their hearts skipped a beat when he lost a few inches.

"You need a break, man?" Roy asked.

"I think I can...hold it for a bit longer."

He shrugged and went back to overturning a sofa, searching its underside in vain. He roared in frustration when he didn't find anything. "This is useless! I don't know what that green guy wants us to find, but it's clear that we aren't finding anything useful."

"His name is Yoshi." Goombella defended. "And he's doing a better job of helping us out than you are."

Roy glared at her, but returned to his search without another word. It was quickly interrupted, however, when Toadette made a discovery.

"I found something!" she called and the others ran toward her. Behind a painting that she had ripped off the wall was a safe, embedded in the wall and locked. A dial that reached up to the number fifty was located on one side, the only way to open the door.

"Anyone happen to have the combination?" Goombella asked.

Roy shrugged, but Ms. Mowz smiled. This kind of thing was right up her alley.

"Allow me." she said, placing her ear against the safe as she slowly turned the dial. They quickly discovered, however, that it made no click when the correct number was activated, allowing them no way to guess at the combination.

Ms. Mowz sighed, feeling useless and a failure of a thief. "If only I had my proper tools, this would be over quickly."

"Somehow, I don't think it'd be that easy." the Goomba girl muttered.

"Someone mind taking this?" Donkey Kong grunted from behind them, straining to lift the scythe. Roy rushed to him and took it in his hands, relieving DK of his burden. After he had taken a few deep breaths, he approached the two females, inspecting the safe for himself. He scratched his head, thinking hard.

"Well, it can't be impossible. Maybe there are some clues hidden somewhere. We just have to keep looking."

7Z7Z7Z7

"Hey, this door's unlocked now!"

Jojora, Bobbery, Yoshi, and Tiny spun around at Koops's cry. He had pushed open one of the many doors in the long upstairs corridor. They approached him warily, not wanting to be shocked like Ms. Mowz had.

Fortunately, no such thing happened, and they walked through the doorway into the other room.

The door slammed shut behind them, the loud thud reverberating off the walls of the pitch black room.

"It's no use." Tiny sighed, defeated after tugging at the handle. "It's locked."

"Of COURSE." Jojora exclaimed cynically. "Just our goddamn luck."

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, there might be a way out ahead." Bobbery said, leading the way into the room. Gradually, torches began to light, one by one whenever he passed them. The others followed him, cautious about their new surroundings.

Koops shivered slightly. It wasn't cold, but fear crept through him and slowly but steadily grew like a virus, plaguing his entire being. The walls seemed to close in on him and the light from the shadows sent flickering forms on the walls, making him think of figures dashing out of sight in the dark room, their eyes watching him from the comfort of their shadowy dwelling.

When they reached the center of the room, sunlight seemed to blaze in from the ceiling, blinding all of them temporarily. When they had regained their vision, they observed the room.

It was huge, and even though they didn't know the size of the house, it seemed much too large to be a part of the building. The walls and floor were made of stone, their cool surface contrasting to that of the torches still blazing on the walls. The sunlight they had seen was filtering in from above them, a large skylight located in the huge ceiling.

Seven identical statues stood single file in front of them, each facing the same direction. They appeared to be likenesses of some mythical creature, a humanoid figure dressed from head to toe in armor, but with bull horns sprouting from its helmet and a lizard tail trailing behind it, a double edged battle axe resting on a strap by his hip. Behind them was a raised pedestal with a stone tablet on it. Next to that was a giant golden scale, each side holding no weight.

Yoshi ran up to the stone tablet and read aloud what was written on it, his new friends too baffled to move.

"If you do not wish to fail, then you must balance the scale. Seven statues there are not, for one of them has a plot. He is a fake, deceiving you, and weighing the scale is not what he'll do. Though he may feel heavy to one of you guys, I assure you, those feelings are lies. You want to achieve your prize to the max? Then find the fraud, and take his axe.

- Mischief"

When Yoshi had finished, he turned to the members of his group, determination on his face. "You guys know what this means, right?"

Jojora rolled her eyes. "Duh! We have to find the statue that won't weigh down the scale. You can't get much simpler than that."

"Than what are we waiting for? Let's take these axes until we get it right." Tiny said, making her way towards a statue. Yoshi stopped her, however.

"Wait, there's more." He read some more text under the previous set, his brow furrowing. "You want to take a wild guess? I don't think that idea's the best. If you don't want to be a bunch of dead fools, I'd suggest you play the game by the rules. Below are clues that'll help your run. Play fair, and remember to have fun! P.S. You only have one guess!" Yoshi paused for a moment and continued to read, this time the clues that mischief had provided. "The liar never stands alone. He loves his twin, but he hates his clone. Hygiene is important as well. He's never lost when he strolls through hell."

"How's that supposed to help us?" Jojora grumbled. "All of these statues look the same!"

"Not necessarily." Koops countered, examining one closely. "This one doesn't have dust on it, while the one next to it does."

"Coincidence."

"No, he's right." Tiny argued, joining Koops by the line of statues. "Some of them have compasses while the others don't. That must pertain to the 'not getting lost in hell' clue."

"Okay, but how do those other clues help? We can't exactly read Mr. Lizard-bull's diary and learn who he really hates, now can we? Last time I checked, statues don't have any emotions."

"I think I might have an idea." Yoshi said slowly, carefully analyzing the clues on the tablet. "When you hate someone, don't you try to get as far away as possible from them? In this case, that would mean that the fake statue is far away from the one he hates. Since he hates a clone, that must mean that he looks identical to the one he hates. Using these two clues, we can already know that they are far apart and that they look the same."

"What about the hygiene part?" Koops pondered.

"Maybe the dust? Three of them are covered in dust while the other four aren't."

Bobbery nodded. "Yeah. That means that we can narrow it down to three. The one on the far left, the one second to the left, and the one second to the right. I'm not sure which it could be, though..."

"The clues state that he never stands alone, right?" Jojora said, taking interest in the puzzle. "That probably means that he is surrounded on either side by a statue. That rules out the one on the far left."

The others were shocked that she had made a helpful suggestion. She stared back at them, confused and slightly offended. "What? I can be helpful, too!"

Eventually, they made the following list, labeling the statues from left to right:

Clean, compass

Clean, compass

Dusty, compass

Clean, no compass

Dusty, no compass

Clean, compass

Dusty, no compass

Yoshi beamed, ecstatic that they were making progress.

They kept thinking, looking between the two identical statues, not knowing which one to pick. Suddenly, Bobbery shouted, "I know which one! The one second to the left!"

Tiny looked at him and back at the statue skeptically. "Are you sure? How do you know?"

"Think about it, kid. The three we narrowed it down to all look identical. The only way we can tell who the fake is is by his position. Two suspects are right next to each other while the last one is on the other side. We crossed the one on the far left off of our list, so it's between the second to the left and the second to the right. Now why would he stand next to a clone he hates when we already know that he wouldn't do that? He must be standing next to the twin he loves instead, since one would want to keep their loved ones close. Obviously, the clone he hates is on the opposite side, standing next to dust covered statues, which means that the one second to the left is the fraud. You get it?"

Tiny furrowed her brow, most likely in deep thought, but she quickly came to a realization. She nodded her head and smiled, admiring Bobbery's intellect.

"So we all agree then? The one second to the left, right?" Yoshi asked for the group's consent.

They all nodded, except for Jojora who just shrugged indifferently, pretending not to show much interest. In reality, she was anticipating the worst, fearing that they would pick the wrong one and die in some horrible manner.

"Okay then. So, who wants to draw the axe?"

Nobody volunteered. If their guess was wrong, it was implied that death awaited them. Nobody wanted to take the risk.

Yoshi sighed and approached the statue, silently praying for their success.

"There goes our fearless leader." Jojora muttered, earning herself glares from the other three.

Yoshi slowly reached for the axe on the statue's belt. He gripped it and clenched it tightly. Adrenaline surged through his body and his heart rate sped up with each moment, the anticipation building up. Slowly, he slid it out of its position, surprised by how easy it was to remove it. He braced for a sudden horrific event to occur, but when nothing happened, he sighed in relief, placing a hand over his racing heart.

The party enjoyed a brief moment of relief and then proceeded to lift the other statues and place them on the scale, three on each side. It balanced out and a portion of the wall slid away, revealing a secret chamber behind it.

They cheered and enjoyed a short celebration, except for one pessimist, who was sincerely wondering how they could be so happy when their true victory was far from reach.

Yoshi felt elated that they had competed their first trial successfully. As he looked at the faces of his new allies, his hopes and determination escalated. They could do this. They could escape.

"Well done." The party froze as they heard the voice of the Reaper. He was nowhere to be seen, but his voice echoed around them as if he was speaking from the very place they were standing. "You completed your first challenge, and quicker than I had imagined as well! Just know that it won't get any easier. I have much more planned for you, and this was simple compared to what you'll face later on."

"Just watch us." Yoshi said confidently. "We can overcome whatever you throw at us."

The Reaper laughed venomously. "But for how long? And who will be left to share your short-lived success? Now go and claim your prize. I'm eager to see how this will turn out."

With that, the voice faded and the five felt his presence vanish, though they knew that he was still watching them. They silently made their way into the small room that had opened when they completed the challenge. Two torches barely lit the darkened room, but the numbers '23-15-47' could clearly be made out on the wall.

"What kind of a reward is that?" Jojora complained. "We bust our brains and risk Captain Yoshi's life over a few numbers?"

Yoshi sent her an annoyed look at the nickname, but spoke in a calm voice anyways. "Whatever the case may be, I suggest that we remember these numbers. They could prove to be useful at some point."

7Z7Z7Z7

As it turned out, they proved to be useful quite soon.

"Where have you guys been?" Toadette asked as the group who had just completed the trial came into view. "We were worried sick!"

"Not all of us..." Roy grumbled, his voice slightly strained from holding the scythe back.

Goombella glared at him, but added to Toadette's comment. "We heard the Reaper say something about you guys completing a challenge. Is that true?"

"Yeah. We had to find a statue that was different than the others, but that's besides the point." Tiny answered. "We were 'rewarded' with three numbers, but we don't know what use they're for."

Ms. Mowz was intrigued by this. "Numbers? Do you remember what they were?"

"Sure." Bobbery said. "It seemed sort of like a combination of some sort. The numbers were 23, 15, and 47."

"In that order?"

"I think so. Why?"

She ran to the safe in the wall and hastily, but carefully, turned the dial to enter the combination. The five who had recently entered the room stared at her strangely, but DK explained. "We found a safe earlier, but we didn't know how to open it. If the numbers you got is the combination, then-"

He was interrupted by a clang as Ms. Mowz flung the safe door open. She peered inside, eight of her nine comrades crowding around to get a look at what was inside.

Finally, Ms. Mowz pulled out a single, small object and held it out to the others in the palm of her hand. There rested a small, golden key, the light from the lamps reflecting off of its shiny surface.

"A key, huh?" Toadette commented. "What's it for?"

Jojora sighed and shook her head. "What do you THINK it's meant for? Obviously, it's supposed to open something. God, I'm surrounded by morons..."

Toadette looked about ready to punch the fairy, but she restrained herself. "I meant, what do we use it for? A door? A chest? What?"

"Dunno." Goombella said. "But I say we go try it on some of those locked doors upstairs."

DK, Mz. Mowz, and Toadette nodded, taking the key and exiting the room. Roy turned to Koops, a smirk on his face. "Hey, hoodie dude? Wanna see something cool?"

Koops scratched his head, unsure of how to answer. He decided on saying, "Uh, sure, I guess."

Roy beckoned to him and Koops approached cautiously. When he was right next to the Koopaling, he instructed him on what to do. "Just take your hands and put them on the scythe, like so, and..." Roy skipped away from it, Koops surprised by the sudden weight in his hands. He managed to hold it up, but the tip of the scythe barely touched the heart. Jojora clenched her chest in pain, a grimace on her face.

"What the hell are you doing, Roy?" Bobbery screamed, rushing to Jojora to see if she was alright. "You could have killed her!"

He shrugged. "Well, to be fair, I wouldn't have done it if I had known it was her heart. She's one of the only people around here that I wouldn't want to punch in the face. But, hey, at least we know whose life is on the line, right? You can thank me later." With that, he began to follow the others who had left.

"W-what about me?" Koops asked, desperately trying to gain more distance between the scythe and the heart.

"Eh, just hold it." Roy said without looking back. "I told you I'd show you something cool, right?"

"I can assure you, the things I am seeing...are far from cool..." he shuddered, closing his eyes and shaking his head, wishing that the images he was seeing would vanish.

"Whatever. Suck it up, bro."

Yoshi and Tiny glowered as he left.

"I don't like that guy." Tiny whispered.

Bobbery grunted. "Join the club."

Jojora looked at Koops, extremely worried. "Whatever you do, don't let go of that."

7Z7Z7Z7

Roy glanced at the many closed doors on either side of him. All of the doors in the hallway seemed to be locked, except for one that stood ajar, most likely the one that his allies had just unlocked. He pushed it open and followed the corridor that came after it.

When he reaches the end, he found himself in a small room with two doors right next to each other. He tried to open the one on the right, but when it failed to budge, he tried the one on the left instead. A flight of stairs resided behind it and he ascended them, hoping that the others were ahead.

At the top of the stairs, he found himself in a dark bedroom, a bluish light filtering in from an adjacent room the only way to see in it. Five 'T' shaped metal bars were horizontally aligned in the wall farthest from the light. He walked towards them and pulled on one. It came out with a long chain attached to it. He continued pulling until it extended fully. It resisted his efforts and pulled back, finally snapping back into the wall like a tape measurer when he let go. A monitor was located just above the devices. It seemed to illustrate a maze, the walls represented by dark blue lines and the paths represented by thick, tan lines. Every so often, a large stretch of black would break the tan. Roy didn't know exactly what this meant, but some sort of impassioned had to be located in those areas. Four dots were on the far left side of the maze, the beginning, and four squares on the far right, the end. Each seemed to correspond to the color it matched and moved whenever the other moved. One pair was white, another pink, another brown, and another yellow. The dots moved around slowly and lazily, as if they were lost and unsure of where to go, but the squares seemed to know exactly which paths to take, continually making their way to the dots whenever their partner would move.

To the right of the monitor was a board and a microphone. The board showed each dot and an arrow pointing to each square.

Yellow dot to pink square

Pink dot to brown square

Brown dot to white square

White dot to yellow square

Roy had no idea what to make of it, but he looked at the microphone. He lowered it close to his mouth and spoke into it, not sure what else to do. "Hello?"

7Z7Z7Z7

"What is this place?" Toadette asked, staring at the walls surrounding her group. The area was lit, but nobody could tell where the lighting was coming from. The walls and floor seemed to be made of dirt, but it was so hard, they doubted that they could dig through it.

"Some kind of maze, probably." Goombella said. "I guess this is our challenge."

DK nodded. "Yeah. Anyone good at making their way through mazes?"

"Usually, this sort of thing wouldn't be a problem for me." Ms. Mowz stated. "But so far, all of my tricks have proved useless. I doubt this would be any different."

"So how should we proceed? All together? Separate groups?"

Goombella thought for a moment. "Well, we should probably split up. With the other group, it didn't seem like they all needed to look at the numbers. Maybe this will be the same?"

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Toadette protested. "We are NOT splitting up! That's how we'll all die! How do we know that something isn't roaming through the maze, trying to track us down?"

Ms. Mowz shrugged. "I'm with Goombella. It would be more efficient to split up and search on our own." She turned to the single male of the party, asking for his opinion. "What do you think?"

He scratched his head, torn between the two decisions. "I dunno. Both have their pros and cons. Ummm...oh, I know! How about you two go off by yourselves, and I'll stick with Toadette. That's as efficient as we can get without totally splitting up, right?"

Goombella and Ms. Mowz nodded, agreeing to DK's plan. Toadette, reluctantly, agreed as well.

"Okay then. See you guys later." Goombella stated, walking off down one path.

Ms. Mowz nodded and went off by herself as well, leaving the female Toad and the big ape alone.

"What do we do if something actually does chase us?" Toadette whimpered as they began their journey.

DK smiled kindly to her. "Just run like hell."

7Z7Z7Z7

Shortly after she had begun her trek through the maze, Goombella heard a familiar voice.

"Hello?"

She jumped when she heard Roy's voice echo around her. She spun around and tried to locate where his voice was coming from, but she didn't find any clues.

"Roy?" she almost whispered, afraid that she might slowly be going insane and hearing things.

When he spoke, he sounded as if he was addressing more than just her. "Yeah, I heard you. Where are you guys?"

She almost told him, but hesitated. What if it was some sort of trick? She wondered how she was even hearing him.

"A maze?" he asked. Goombella now assumed that he was talking to one of the others. "That's funny. There's a monitor thing in here, and I think it's a maze. Try moving."

She waited for a few seconds, and Roy's voice spoke again. "Yeah, this is definitely the maze you're in. You must be the white dot, Mowz. Hey, DK, your with that mushroom girl, right? That must mean that you're the brown dot, and she's the pink one. Yo, Goombella?"

"Y-yes?" she asked softly.

"Move around a bit. I wanna make sure that you're the yellow dot."

She nodded, not sure if he could see her or not, and took a few steps forward. Roy stopped her.

"Yup, that's you. But then what are the squares...?" he muttered the last part to himself.

One of the others must have spoken to him since he answered a question. "Yeah, I can see it. Right now, DK and Toadette are closest, so I'll lead them to the exit. You and Goombella can do whatever, I don't really care. Just make sure you don't make any crazy shit happen, got it?"

Goombella shook her head, dismissing him. It seemed like he had the key to getting them through the maze, so as long as he didn't screw up or deliberately sabotage them, Goombella was okay with it.

_'Still.'_ she thought, wandering down another corridor_. 'Why does Roy of all people have to be the one in charge, here?'_

7Z7Z7Z7

Surprisingly, Roy was doing an excellent job as their guide. Until he almost led them off a cliff.

The two had come across a black bar on the radar, something Roy had been wondering about for a while.

"Whoa, hold up!" DK said, though Roy couldn't see what he was talking about.

"What's wrong now?"

"There's a gap here." he answered. "Are we supposed to get across?"

"Oh, no." Roy said sarcastically. "Only if you want to get through this maze!"

"Well I don't see a way across. Can you help us?" DK asked, clearly frustrated.

Roy looked around the room. There was no alternative path to the finish, so there had to be something he could do to help them cross. He glanced at the metal devices in the wall and pulled one out. When nothing happened, he tried the next one. Still nothing. When he tried the fourth, however, he was met with a positive response from Donkey Kong.

"Hey, a bridge slid out of the cliff side! What did you do?"

Roy couldn't answer them from his position, so he let go of the device to move back to the microphone, but jumped on shock when he heard screaming.

"What's happening?"

"You nearly killed us!" Toadette shrieked. "You make a bridge appear and then get rid of it just as we're about to get on? What's wrong with you?!"

"I swear, I didn't know it would go away when I let go of the thing! But I probably should have done that on purpose..."

She began yelling at him again, but he ignored it as he moved back to the device. He pulled it out again and held it, this time waiting until he heard DK call out to him, telling them they had crossed.

"Which way now?" DK asked, looking between the two paths before him.

Roy took his time in answering. DK wondered if something had happened to him, but he spoke up a moment later.

"Go...left." he said slowly.

DK was suspicious, but complied. He didn't really like Roy, but he had no other option than to trust that he could guide him out of the maze.

DK and Toadette arrived at another fork in the road, but this time, they were caught off guard by a figure standing in one of the pathways.

It was large, probably a bit bigger than himself. It seemed humanoid and was covered in armor, but it had bull horns sticking out of its head and a large lizard tail trailing behind it. An axe was attached to its hip, the deadly blade glinting in the mysteriously untraceable light. The figure stood with its back to them, as still as if it were frozen in time. He slowly backed away from it, and was surprised to see it move at the same speed he did. It tried to continue down the path, but when DK stopped moving, it froze as well.

"What is that thing?" Toadette whispered harshly. She began hyperventilating and clung to DK. "What is that thing?"

"I don't know." he said calmly, holding her still and keeping his voice low, unsure if it would attack them. "Any idea, Roy?"

"How would I know?" he barked. "Just leave it alone. It doesn't seem to be after you anyway. But..."

"But what?"

"Mowz? Get the hell outta there." he said simply.

"What? Roy, what do you mean?" DK asked, worry rising in his voice.

He didn't respond to him, instead addressing Ms. Mowz. "Just go. That thing is hunting you, I'm sure of it. And I don't think it's the only one around here. Now, I have a theory, but I'm not sure how accurate it is."

"What's going on?" Toadette shook violently, tears forming in her eyes. "Are these things going to...kill us?"

"On my radar, that thing is a white square." Roy explained. "It seems like it's constantly moving towards Mowz, but it can only move whenever DK moves. The same goes for the other squares, but they depend on everyone else's movement. It seems that each of you has one of those monsters chasing after you, and they move whenever the person who corresponds to it on this board move."

DK frowned in confusion, but Roy continued. "For instance, whenever DK, the brown dot, moves, the white square, that thing, gets closer to Mowz, the white dot. When Mowz moves, the yellow square moves to Goombella, when Goombella moves, the pink square moves to Toadette, and when Toadette moves, the brown square moves to DK. There are four monsters in there that can only perform actions whenever the person who corresponds to them moves from their position."

"What? How?" Toadette asked.

"You think I know everything? It's as much a mystery to you as it is to me, idiot. Just know that you guys are not safe."

"What if we don't walk, but we move our arms or something?" DK asked. "Does that allow them to move?"

"I don't know. Try it."

DK flailed his arms around, but the monster stayed in one place.

"That's a no. Now, Mowz, move outta there. Monkey, stay still."

They waited for a long time until Roy finally told them to go. He directed the two down a path different than the one the monster was taking. DK was relieved. It had scared him more than he would have liked, and was glad to be away from it, even if it wasn't after him.

But, somewhere, another one was.

"All right, guys, looks like your gonna make it." Roy said victoriously. "I think we should all congratulate the one responsible for our success, don't you? And who was that, again? Oh, that's right. Me. Please, hold your applause!"

"Can it, Roy." DK sighed. "Just tell us which way to go."

"Fine. Right."

They did as he said and DK sighed in relief when he saw a door at the far end of a corridor.

"Oh, thank God!" Toadette said and ran towards it.

"Wait, stop!" Roy screamed, but he was too late. The floor gave way under Toadette and she fell down.

"Toadette!" DK bellowed, running towards her.

"You stop too!" Roy shouted, halting DK briefly. "You take one more step and Mowz's brains are gonna get splattered all over the walls!"

He looked confused, so Roy elaborated. "She got cornered, and that creature is right on top of her. You take one more step and she's a goner."

"Damn it." DK said under his breath.

He couldn't believe he had just let Toadette run out like that and fall to her death. He couldn't have known that that put was there, but he felt responsible since he was right there with her. He could have stopped her.

"Help!" DK's heart skipped a beat. Was that Toadette?

"Toadette?" he called.

"DK! Help me! I...can't hold on much longer!"

His hopes lifted when he saw her tiny hands gripping the ledge for dear life. He almost moved toward her, but remembered what Roy had told him.

"I...I can't..." he muttered, almost kicking himself for being unable to help. She was right there, but he couldn't save her.

"Hold on, Toadette, I'm sending Goombella to you!" Roy said, his voice panicked.

A short while later he cursed. "Goombella, stop! DK...don't turn around..."

The ape didn't need to look to understand his words. The monster that was hunting him was right behind him.

"Roy...any ideas?" he asked, his heart pounding.

"Keep your tie on, I got it." he answered. "Lemme just pull the bridge out for Toadette. Then she can run to the other side.

7Z7Z7Z7

Roy ran back to the devices in the wall and grabbed the fifth one. He was about to pull it, but stopped when he heard a noise from the other room. He slowly turned around his eyes scanning the doorway.

A consistent pattering sound was coming from the room, a low growl accompanying it.

He let go of the device, his curiosity getting the better of him.

He slowly approached the doorway and looked into the room.

It was a bathroom, with a bluish light emanating from the lamp on the ceiling. The shower was running, and Roy gasped when he saw someone standing it it.

It was a naked woman with pale skin, her back facing him. Her head hung low, long, black hair falling over her head. She seemed to be the source of the growling.

Roy couldn't help but move closer to her, his fists raised in case she attacked him.

"Hey," he said in a low voice. "What are you doing here?"

She turned around and Roy's eyes widened behind his sunglasses.

Her entire ribcage hung open, blood still flowing out and down the drain as the water flushed it out. The bones were sharp and deadly looking. Where her mouth should have been, there were a pair of mandibles, and they clacked together threateningly. Her intestines hung out and she took them in her arms. They had been tied to form a noose.

"Holy shi-" he started, but she jumped at him.

The intestines wrapped around his neck and tightened, cutting his air supply off.

He hacked and coughed as he struggled against her, but he felt himself on the verge of passing out.

He stated up at her face. Her hair hung over them like a curtain, and he was forced to stare into her reptilian like eyes, her mandibles dripping with saliva.

He grimaced in pain as she embraced him into her ribs, the bones piercing his skin and making him bleed. The water from the shower fell onto him, running down his body and mixing with their blood.


	3. Chapter 3

**It's been a little while since I updated this story, but that's because of how long and exhausting it was to write chapter two. I'll try to keep my chapters shorter than that one from now on. This chapter was actually supposed to be part of the last chapter, but I was so tired at one point that I decided "To hell with it" and left you guys on that cliffhanger (ah, see what I did there? 'Cuz Toadette was hanging from a cliff? Eh? Eh? No? Nevermind…)Since it was supposed to be part of the last chapter, this one will be pretty short. Anyways, enjoy chapter 3!**

House of the Reaper

"What is taking them so long?" Jojora complained, tapping her foot on the floor, something she wasn't quite used to since she was usually floating above the ground, but had quickly gotten the hang of.

"Maybe we should check on them?" Tiny suggested, peeling a banana she had found in the pantry. The house may be their supernatural prison, but it still had things that a normal home would have, such as food in the kitchen and a TV in the living room (although it didn't work).

"Please..." Koops wheezed, his weak muscles bulging as he held the scythe up. "Take...this..."

"Oh, give me that, you wimp!" Jojora growled and took the scythe in her hands, pushing him out of the way as she did so.

Koops fell backwards and toppled onto his back, panting in exhaustion. Yoshi helped him up and caught him when he almost fell over again.

"I...man, that was tough..." he said, his hand over his forehead.

Once Yoshi had helped him over to the couch, he turned to the others. "So, who wants to check up on them with me?"

Bobbery stepped forward. "I'll go." Then he turned to Tiny and Koops. "You two stay here. Make sure Jonora keeps that scythe raised."

They nodded and the two males exited the room, making their way upstairs to where the other group had gone.

Tiny stared at the banana and sighed, her appetite lost. "What do you think happened to them? We didn't take this long."

"Who cares?" Jojora said, trying to get a better grip on the scythe. "As long as I'm not on Death's door, it doesn't really matter to me."

Tiny glared at her. "Why are you so selfish and rude? We have to work together to get out of here, and all you're doing is complaining and insulting us!"

"Just because I've been thrust into this predicament with all of you doesn't mean that I have to be friendly or trusting. For all I know, any of you could be working with the Reaper, trying to sabotage us."

"You really think that?"

"I can't trust you just because you say that you're innocent. I'm the kind of person who needs proof before they can believe something."

_'Plus,'_ she thought to herself. _'If I can trust you and get to know you, it will only be more painful when you die.'_

Tiny sighed. "Then how can I prove that we're trustworthy so you can stop acting like a jerk?"

"How about you try finding a way out of here? Then we can be BFFs, do each other's nails, or whatever stupid things you like." she said sarcastically.

Tiny threw up her hands in exasperation, defeated for the time being. She turned to Koops who was lying beside her. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess." he said softly. "Just a bit hungry."

"Really? I can get you something to eat. What would you like?"

Koops hastily got up and stumbled to the pantry himself. "No, that's alright. I can get it myself, I wouldn't want to trouble you."

When he opened the pantry, however, Mischief jumped out at him and clung to his face, cackling like a madman.

"AHHHHH! GET IT OFF!" Koops yelled, stumbling out of the kitchen, Mischief clawing at his head. Tiny, shocked, looked between Jojora and where he went, unsure of what to do.

"Go! Just go! I got this!" she said firmly, and Tiny ran off to rescue him.

Jojora tried to push the scythe up higher, sweat running down her face. "I can...hold this all day..."

7Z7Z7Z7

Yoshi was the first to reach the room which Roy had first discovered.

"Hello?" he called out, slowly making his way to the room with the eerie light as he heard sounds of a struggle. When he reached the doorway, he took a deep breath and leapt into the room, startled at what he found.

Roy was desperately trying to pull a noose formed from intestines off of his neck with one hand and punching at the monstrous woman who was strangling him with the other. She didn't seem to be affected by his strikes at all, only pressing him closer to her whenever he struck her, impaling him with her pointy bones.

Yoshi rushed forward and tugged at Roy, trying to free him. When it didn't work, he looked around for a weapon, and with no other option, he gripped one of the ribs and plucked it from the woman's chest.

She didn't give any sign that she had noticed, for she only continued to suffocate Roy.

Yoshi held the bone like a dagger and stabbed her head with the sharp end, embedding it into her skull. She fell to the ground, lifeless, blood spurting from the wound.

Roy fell as well, yanking the intestines around his throat off and coughing and heaving with all his might.

While Roy was catching his breath, Yoshi stood transfixed as he stared at the woman, a mix of fear, disgust, and nostalgia swirling within him. He felt as though he had met this woman somewhere before, but she had most certainly looked more human. An image of a beautiful woman popped into his head, a distant memory tampered with by the Reaper. Though they did look similar, they couldn't be the same person...could they? The woman he was thinking of had brown hair, and most certainly did not have reptilian eyes, mandibles, or an open ribcage. But she seemed so familiar.

He didn't open the medicine cabinet in the room, so he didn't discover the tattered red dress and broken high heeled shoes that were inside.

"Are you okay?" Yoshi asked, immediately scolding himself for asking such a stupid question.

"What do you think?" Roy growled furiously, taking Yoshi's hand as he helped him up.

"You'll be fine."

At this point, Bobbery entered the room as well, recoiling when he saw the dead creature on the floor.

"Good Lord, what is that!?" he shouted, backing away.

"Some demon spawn that I pray we'll never see again!" Roy said and pushed Bobbery out of his way, rubbing his sore neck as he went back into the control room.

He was about to grab the device and pull the bridge out for Toadette, but someone stumbled in front of him.

"GET...IT...OFF!" Koops yelled each word as he smashed Mischief into a nearby wall. It didn't seem to have much of an effect, and Mischief only clung on tighter.

Yoshi lunged at him and tried to stab the midget with the bone, but he leapt off and scampered out of the room, giggling insanely as he did so.

Tiny tripped over him as they both went through the doorway at the same time, causing her to land flat of her face. Before she could get up and chase him, he was already gone.

"What are you doing here?" Yoshi said, helping her up.

"That stupid head-humper got Koops and dragged him up here, so I was trying to help."

Bobbery stared at her, fear coursing through him. "Who's with Jojora?"

They stood in silence for a moment before the four rushed back the way they had come, leaving Roy to finally accomplish his task.

He started towards the device, but jumped when he felt something slimy wrap around his ankle. He turned around and gasped when he saw the woman in the bathroom's doorway, lying on the floor with a pool of blood surrounding her. She was still alive, and she had lassoed his leg with her intestines.

He heard her mandibles click together maliciously and she gave a great yank. He was swept off his feet. His fingers barely caught the device in the wall, and he clung to it as best as he could as he was helplessly dragged back towards the demon lady. The device came out of the wall and stopped when it had achieved its maximum length. Roy still held on, watching the radar as the pink dot raced across the newly formed bridge.

Toadette reached the end just in time. Roy felt his fingers slip as the woman yanked harder, and he slid towards her. The pink dot reached the area marked 'Finish'. Immediately, the woman shrieked in an unholy manner. It was a shrill and blood-curdling scream, filled with hatred, rage, pain, and misery. Her skin melted away, then her bones, then what few organs she had. Finally, there was nothing left of her.

Roy stood up as he panted heavily, his arms sore from nearly being ripped out of their sockets as he had tried to hold on. He turned to where the woman had melted, almost feeling sorry for her, though he didn't know why.

He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts of compassion. "What a bitch." he muttered to himself, returning to his rude nature.

7Z7Z7Z7

Pure relief washed through Toadette as she saw the creatures on the other end of the gap melt into puddles. She had reached the end of the maze and saved her friends from the dangerous monsters. That was reason enough for her to be relieved.

What was more was that she had recovered a key in the small room at the end of the maze. She held it tightly in her palm, as if she was afraid that it would disappear if she didn't keep a close watch on it.

"Roy?" she said, hoping he could hear her voice. "I got a key. Should I head back now?"

There was a brief delay before Roy spoke. When he did, he was panting and sounded pretty shaken up.

"Y...yeah...The statues are gone, so you won't have to worry about them."

She nodded, forgetting that Roy couldn't see her do so. Then she walked back the way she had come, pausing only for Roy to raise the bridge once more.

"I'm so sorry, Toadette!" DK cried, rushing to her as she reached the other side of the bridge. "I wanted to save you, but Ms. Mowz would have-"

"It's fine, DK." she said, not sure if she trusted what Roy had said. Maybe he had only said that Ms. Mowz was cornered. He might have been trying to kill her for some reason.

Though they all were in the same position, they were all strangers to one another.

Really, she couldn't trust anyone.

She walked alongside him to the exit. Though she knew that he had been unable to save her, it felt strange to not be angry at him after he had almost let her die. He was apologizing like mad, but she didn't know how to feel about him.

7Z7Z7Z7

Jojora was panting and sweating as she held the scythe up. It was dangerously close to the pulsing heart on the floor, and though she had tried to encourage herself, she knew it would fall soon if someone didn't help her.

She opened her eyes and gasped when she saw Mischief perched on the armchair across from her, wringing his hands. He cocked his head to the side and hopped down from his position, approaching her slowly.

"What...do you want...?" she wheezed. She stared at his creepy mask, feeling very uneasy as she was alone with him and incapable of fighting him off if he attacked her.

Mischief sprang at her and scratched her with his long nails. She felt the burning sensation of pain as they reared through her side. Jojora yelped in agony, but held strong, making sure not to drop the scythe.

Unfortunately, Mischief continued to assault her, cackling insanely as he did so. Jojora's blood dripped out of various cuts that he had made on her body, but still she held the scythe.

"Don't...make me...drop this..." she hissed through gritted teeth. His claws came again, slashing down her back.

Jojora howled in pain and lashed out at him, but he ducked into the shadows, his laughter fading with him.

That's when Jojora realized her mistake. She slowly turned around and stated in horror at the scythe. It had dropped to the floor, it tip embedded in the now still heart.

7Z7Z7Z7

Koops, Yoshi, Tiny, and Bobbery were almost at the end of the upstairs hallway. They were about to turn the corner to run down the staircase when Bobbery cried out.

"What's wrong?" Tiny asked, concerned, as she ran back to Bobbery, who was laying on the floor. Koops and Yoshi, however, continued without her.

"I'm...not as spry as I used to be." he groaned. "Just go on, I'll be fine."

Without any other choice, Tiny stood up and ran to the end of the hall again. She stopped when she heard a sudden thump.

Tiny glanced down the staircase and was confused at what she saw. Her new friend was lying on the floor, face down, his arms and legs awkwardly sprawled as if he had tumbled down the staircase. She couldn't see why he had fallen, but a sudden fear crept inside her. Was he dead?

Even before she ran down to see for herself, her other friend had kneeled down to take his pulse. He looked at her and shook his head sadly.

Yoshi was dead.

**Ooh, the first one to die was their 'leader'! Sucks for them!**

**Now, I meant to put this note in the previous chapter, but I was a total IDIOT and forgot.**

**Some of you have influenced me to change who lives and who dies (or when they die) through your reviews. I found that interesting since I had already decided that the specific people I chose would live, and that's that. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, if you really want someone to live, review and tell me who and why. I might be inclined to at least let them live a bit longer. I can already tell you, just by a few reviews, I have already changed the order of a person who dies and switched someone who would have died into the survivor category, so this will have an impact. But act quickly, because at least two more deaths will happen soon, and you might want to save those poor souls before it's too late. Or you might cheer and celebrate because one of the people you don't like got killed. Either way, review, and you might very well change the story.**

**Anyways, I've rambled on long enough. Hope you enjoyed, and expect more soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Not much to say here. Enjoy the chapter!**

**House of the Reaper****  
**

Yoshi's body had been moved to the living room and everyone stood around it in a circle.  
Toadette was on her knees by the body, weeping, her tears streaming down her face and falling onto Yoshi's stiff, cold corpse.  
"I can't believe this happened..." Goombella whispered.  
"I know." Koops said. "He was the one who pulled us together and led us. He wasn't a bad guy either."  
Roy nodded. "I can think of five other people I would have rather seen go first..."  
His comment earned him many glares, but everyone else remained silent.  
Toadette then jerked her head up to look at Jojora, her eyes puffy, red, and wild. "You did this! This is all your fault! If you had just held that damn scythe up, this wouldn't have happened!"  
"Don't you start with me! I tried my best, but Mischief started messing with me! And in case you all haven't noticed, I've been stabbed and sliced like a butchered pig, so if one of you wouldn't mind helping me...!"  
Ms. Mowz helped her to the couch, where she rested, her body still, but her mouth continuing to move.  
"There was no way I could have held that up with what he was doing. I'd like to see you try. And the things I was seeing weren't helping either..." she muttered the last part to herself.  
"Look, arguing isn't going to help us." Tiny interrupted. "We should just...move on."  
The others nodded silently, averting their eyes from the body.  
Eventually, it was decided that Yoshi's body be moved to the bathtub in the downstairs bathroom. It seemed disrespectful to leave him in such a place, but it was the only choice they had.  
Koops sighed as he closed the door to the bathroom. He had really liked Yoshi and held him in the highest respect. It was terrible to see him go.  
But when memories of the green dinosaur returned to him, his sorrow was only amplified.  
Meeting him at a party. Joking with him among throngs of unidentifiable friends. His smiling face, laughing as he passed Koops a present on Christmas.  
Fond images of Yoshi flooded his brain, and Koops felt hot tears stream down his face. He had been such a good friend, and he had only remembered him after he was dead.  
"Oh my god..." Goombella whimpered, unshed tears shining in her eyes as well. "Yoshi...I remember now..."  
"What...how...how could I have forgotten him..." Ms. Mowz weeped.  
"Did we all just regain our memories?" Tiny asked.  
"Only those of Yoshi." the Reaper stated, appearing behind the group. Instantly, Roy lashed out at him.  
"You bastard! You're toying with our minds! Taking all memories of him away from us, just to replace them after he's dead!? You sick fuck!"  
The Reaper dodged Roy's punch and slammed his head into the wall, holding the growling Koopaling in place as he spoke to him. "Now, now, don't throw a tantrum. It's SUPPOSED to be painful. And it won't just be Yoshi. The memories you shared with those who die will return to all of you."  
"N-no...Please, don't..." Toadette sobbed. "I don't want to feel this pain! JUST LET ME LEAVE!"  
The Reaper threw Roy back and, after he fell back with a grunt, he addressed the group. "You all must prove yourself and earn your freedom. Nobody gets out without having to work hard to escape." Though they couldn't see under his hood, he seemed to smirk behind the thick blackness. "And nobody gets out without paying a heavy toll."  
With that, the menacing figure vanished, leaving the party with a hopeless feeling hanging about them like a dark cloud.  
After while, they returned to the living room, not wanting to talk about Yoshi or what the Reaper had just told them.  
"Now," Bobbery said, unintentionally taking command. "Let's review. We completed two trials."  
"In the first one we got the combination to the safe." Goombella said. "Then we got a key and explored a maze."  
"We got a key from that, too." DK added. "So I guess we just need to try it on another one of those doors."  
"Sounds like a plan." Roy said.  
Bobbery nodded. "You guys just went through a lot, so I think Koops, Tiny, Jojora, and I can take this one."  
Jojora sighed, rubbing her now bandaged wounds. "Seriously? Do I look like I'm ready for another trial?"  
"I've seen worse, kid. You'll be fine."  
She shrugged and stood up, grimacing a bit. "Whatever. Anything's better than sitting around here with you losers."  
Tiny sighed. "You are such a pessimist."  
Jojora opened her mouth to protest, but Koops intervened before an argument could ensue. "Alright, let's get going. The faster we complete this task, the faster we can get out of here."  
With that, the group of four left, taking the key with them.  
When they had gone, the scythe slowly rose up until it was at a ninety degree angle above the stabbed heart. The bloody heart on the floor disappeared, and a new, beating heart took its place.  
Sensing what was about to happen, Ms. Mowz leaped forward and gripped the scythe just as it was about to fall.  
"This again?" Roy asked, popping open a can of soda he had found in the kitchen. "This game's starting to get old. Hey Reaper! How's about you stop this stupid scythe shit!?"  
"You know he won't." Goombella answered.  
"I didn't ask for your opinion. I don't need a stupid girl telling me the obvious."  
"ex-CUSE me!?"  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you not hear me? I said that I don't need a stupid girl like you telling me stuff that I already know. Now go make yourself useful and make me sandwich, 'kay?"  
Goombella rose from her seat, furious, but DK beat her to the punch. Literally.  
He stood in front of Roy, his brow furrowed. Roy, whose head had whipped to the side when DK had punched him, barked, "The hell is your problem, man?"  
"You really need to watch your mouth." the ape said sternly. "You've been nothing but rude ever since we met you."  
Roy stood up and put his face as close to DK's as he could. Even though he was several inches shorter, he showed no sign of being intimidated. "You better watch YOUR mouth, or I'll make sure that you'll be the next one to see our old friend Yoshi again."  
DK didn't back down from his threat. He stood his ground, staring Roy down until he sat back in the old armchair again. "God, no one can take a joke anymore..." Roy muttered to himself.  
DK reclaimed his seat beside Goombella and Toadette, who was still sniveling and remaining silent.  
"Thanks." Goombella whispered to him.  
DK smiled at her kindheartedly. "No problem."

7Z7Z7Z7

When Koops, Bobbery, Tiny, and Jojora entered the the room that the key fit into, they were immediately assaulted with foul, pungent smells.  
"Ugh, it reeks in here!" Jojora complained. "It smells like something crawled in here and died!"  
"Careful what you say." Tiny said, holding her nose. "With our luck, that just might be true."  
Bobbery bravely led the way through the dark room, and his companions followed him reluctantly.  
Koops held his arm over his nose, his sleeve doing little to protect it from the horrible odors. His eyes could barely make out Bobbery's form steadily moving forward, and he struggled to keep the Bob-omb in his vision since the smells seemed to sting his eyes as well.  
They walked for what he estimated was about five minutes, until he felt something bump off of his head. The sound of a chain rattling echoed through the room, and whatever had hit the Koopa nudged him again. He backed away, curious but fearful at the same time.  
"What was that?"  
"Dunno." Bobbery said. "But let's keep moving. We're bound to find something eventually."  
The group continued on, a member accidentally bumping into more things seemingly hanging from the ceiling every so often.  
"What I wouldn't give for a light right now..." Tiny muttered.  
"Or an air freshener. Seriously, the stink's inside my head!" Jojora whined.  
"Over here!" Bobbery called. The other three followed the sound of his voice and crowded around him.  
He stood in front of a huge metal door. He tried pulling on the handle, but it barely budged. A tiny strip of light filtered in from the gap in the doorway.  
"I could use a hand here, people." he said as he struggled to pull it open.  
Koops and Tiny helped him to pull it open while Jojora kept complaining about the smell.  
"Damn, what is WRONG with this place? Like it isn't bad enough that we're trapped here! Now we gotta put up with some dark, smelly room? Seriously, doesn't anyone else care right now?"  
"We do, but at least we're doin' somethin' about it." Bobbery said.  
"Whatever. Just watch, you're probably gonna open that door and a freaking knife is gonna fly through your throat. I don't have a good feeling about th-"  
When light flooded in from the open door, she shut up and held a hand in front of her eyes instead.  
Through the doorway, they saw a narrow hallway, the walls and floor made out of metal. Lights in the ceiling illuminated the path to the open elevator at the end of the hall.  
"I have seriously given up on making sense of the stuff in this house." Tiny said, placing a hand on her forehead.  
"Uh, guys?" Koops whispered, pointing behind them. "I think I know what we were bumping into, now."  
His friends turned around and gasped at what they saw.  
The light from the hall lit up the few bodies dangling by chains from the ceiling nearest to them, giant hooks impaled through their heads. Each was grotesquely maimed and horrifically disfigured, and they cringed when they saw that every last one of them were missing their eyes.  
The Koopa hanging next to Jojora twitched as if he was having a seizure and they backed away from it. The sounds of chains rattling steadily grew as the other bodies began to twitch, one after another.  
Quickly, they filed into the hall and slammed the door behind them, the rattling sounds ceasing as the door closed.  
"That...was creepy..." Tiny placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.  
"I say that we don't open this door again until we come back, agreed?" Jojora asked, and for once, everyone agreed with her.  
With no other option, they entered the elevator. The buttons had numbers reaching from 1 to 58, but only the button with the number 13 worked. The doors slowly shut, and they felt the elevator going up.  
No one spoke, and the only sounds that could be heard was a beep as the elevator changed floors and the elevator music, which was a strange, repetitious song. It made them all feel extremely uneasy.  
When they reached floor thirteen, the doors opened, and they stepped out into a new room.  
It appeared to be a room, once fancy and refined, but now ruined and destroyed. The tattered curtains were open with pure white light streaming in. The floor boards were rotting, with holes in some places, and the walls were chipped. A cracked, grimy mirror lay on the floor, and crumpled and ripped up papers were scattered all around the room. Some were blank, but most had words like, 'Gone.', 'Plague.', or 'The House.' written on them. Others had disturbing pictures on them, varying from detailed drawings depicting cannibalism, various people committing suicide, or a cloaked figure shepherding masses of people into a house, wide grins on the faces of those lining up outside, but expressions of terror on those who had already entered, fearfully gazing at some part of the picture that had been torn off. The four couldn't derive any meaning from these papers.  
In the middle of the room, a table set with tea cups and plates was laid out, a once white table cloth on the table's surface. Around the table sat dozens of dead bodies, all of them missing their eyes, just like the bodies they had seen in the dark room.  
"What the hell...?" Jojora muttered.  
"Let's go, guys." Tiny said worriedly. "I don't like the looks of this."  
They turned to leave, but froze when they heard a voice.  
"Oh! I wasn't expecting visitors!"  
They slowly spun to face in the direction of the voice.  
A girl stood before them. Her blond hair was matted and tangled. She wore a ripped pink dress and broken high heeled shoes. The white glove she wore on her right hand was torn at the fingertips, and they could see her long, grimy nails sticking out of it. Her blue eyes shined with a hidden intent as they darted from one face to another. It was almost as if she had just been offered an assortment of tasty candies, and she was currently trying to decide on which one to devour first.  
"W...who are you?" Koops asked timidly.  
"Me? Why I'm...hm, you know what? I forgot!" she said nonchalantly. Then she broke out into song a pranced around in circles. "I forgot my name! I forgot my name!"  
The four friends exchanged looks with one another, and Jojora twirled her finger next to her head and pointed at the girl.  
The girl stopped and pointed at Jojora, a smile spreading across her face. "That's it! Loopy! People used to call me loopy all the time! My name's Loopy!"  
"Um, okay." Bobbery said carefully. He was extremely confused, but the situation didn't seem safe. The girl was completely insane, and it was probably best if they left. Immediately. "Well, we're sorry to disturb you, so we'll be leaving now..."  
He motioned to the others to get back into the elevator, but Loopy pounced in between them and their goal, then jumped on Koops and pinned him to the floor.  
"Nonsense! Stay here a while, have a cup of tea! I won't take no for an answer!" she said, pulling a knife out of her dress and sliding the dull side against Koops's neck. Then she kissed him, cackled, and jumped up, dancing like a ballerina on her way to the table.  
"I say we play along." Bobbery muttered to the others, helping a traumatized Koops up. "The next key has to be around here somewhere, and the only way we'll find it is by staying here and searching as much as we can."  
"Great. So it's either stay here and have tea with Ms. Psycho and probably die, or die because we can't advance. I don't like either option." Jojora mumbled.  
"Can't we just take her out on our own?" Tiny asked. "There's four of us and only one of her."  
"Kid, have you ever seen a person this crazy before?" The old Bob-omb said. "I don't remember much of my life before all of this shit, but I know that I was with some guy when we got shipwrecked, and he went about as nuts as this poor girl. When someone's as off their rocker as her, there's no telling what they'll do. They're unpredictable and dangerous. The guy started eating people. Eating people, Tiny! And it took me and five other men to restrain him. Even then he escaped and killed more, and he didn't go down until after we filled his chest with seven bullets. A normal man would go down after one, maybe two, and he wouldn't have been able to kill so many people. I'll tell you what, he wasn't in his right state of mind. Insanity does things to you. You don't know mortal danger anymore and pain becomes but a minor nuisance. We are NOT taking any chances, so fighting isn't an option, got it?"  
Tiny gulped and nodded, grasping the true danger they were in. One false step, and they were dead.  
"What are you slowpokes talking about?" Loopy asked, popping up in between them. "Ooh! Is it about bungalows? I don't know what those are, but it sounds funny, doesn't it? Bungalows, bungalows, bungalows!"  
She marched back to the table, chanting the word over and over again. Then she gestured for them to sit down. "The tea party has begun! Please take your seats, ladies and gentlemen!"  
"Remember: don't do anything crazy, and play along." Bobbery muttered to the other three. Then they took the only available seats at the table. Bobbery and Tiny sat next to each other, and Koops and Jojora sat next to each other, the latter two sitting across from the former two.  
"Madam Hugglesnuff, would you care for some more tea?" Loopy asked a lady's corpse, then stood up and poured a grayish liquid into her cup. She put her mouth near Jojora's ear and whispered, "Get some tea while it lasts. Madam Hugglesnuff can down a pot like nobody's business!"  
"Oh, yeah, 'cause it would be a real shame to miss out on some of this stuff!" Jojora said sarcastically as Loopy poured the strange liquid into her cup as well.  
Loopy didn't pick up on the sarcasm. "I know! It's my special recipe too!"  
When she had skipped off, Jojora leaned forward and sniffed the liquid in the cup. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and poured the contents onto the lap of the body to her left.  
"Sir Shell, care for some tea?" Loopy asked Koops, who smiled nervously and shook his head.  
"U-um, no th-thanks!" He looked at Bobbery, who was quickly shaking his head, then nodding. "Uh, actually, yeah, I think I would, thanks..."  
Loopy poured the liquid in his cup, and he made a move to drink it, but Jojora stopped him, throwing the cup into a pile of dirty papers and replacing it with one of the corpse's empty cups.  
"So, Loopy." Bobbery said slowly, carefully choosing his words so as not to set her off. "We need your help in finding something."  
"And what would that be?" the insane girl asked, stuffing a moldy biscuit into a dead body's mouth and moving the lower jaw up and down to help it chew the food.  
"We would be extremely grateful if you could help us find a golden key."  
She gasped and slammed her hands onto the table. Instantly, Bobbery worried that he had said something wrong and sealed their fates, but sighed in relief when she turned to a dead body, pointed an accusatory finger at it, and shouted. "Ms. Toumolroy! You told them, didn't you! You are SUCH a gossip!"  
She bent down and picked up a wooden baseball bat with dried blood on it. She then stormed over to Ms. Toumolroy. She swung the bat with all her might and knocked the head clean off, sending it flying across the room.  
"Let's see if I ever invite you to another one of my parties again!" she called after it angrily. Then she turned to Bobbery and smiled at him, cradling the bat in her arms. "Why, of course I can help you! But it won't come easy, no, no, no!"  
As the others stared at the decapitated head in horror, Bobbery frowned at Loopy. "What do we need to do?"  
Loopy ripped one of the corpse's hands off and used it to rub her chin thoughtfully. "Well, I haven't had a good riddle duel in a while. I mean, my guests are quite nice, but, frankly, they are quite stupid."  
"So all we need to do is ask you riddles and answer yours?"  
"And whoever stumps the chump first, wins!"  
"But you know what we want. What will you get if you win?"  
Bobbery's friends looked at him worriedly, fearing that he had just made a terrible decision. Then they awaited Loopy's response, even more frightful of what she would say.  
"Well...I also haven't had a proper meal in a while...mostly just rats, but they taste dreadful...so I guess if I win...I'll just eat you all!"  
Koops, Tiny, and Jojora thought that sounded like a terrible idea, but Bobbery nodded instantly. "Very well. But how do we know you won't go back on your word if we win?"  
"Good point, Roundy." she nodded. "How about I give you my most prized possession, and you give me your most prized possession! Then, if one of us wins, the other won't go back on their word 'cause the other will have their stuff and smash it or eat it or something!"  
Bobbery thought for a moment, then nodded. He took a compass out from under his hat and opened it. A picture of him and a scarlet red Bob-omb was in it. Both of them were smiling, and Bobbery felt a sense of sorrow as he imagined the thought of losing the picture. He shook his head, trying to drive the thought away.  
_'I no longer remember who she was.'_ he thought. _'It means nothing to me now.'_  
Even so, he frowned in sadness as he slid the picture to Loopy, who grabbed it in her dirty hands and brought it close to her face, grinning as if she had just discovered a chest full of gold.  
"Ooh! Nice! I'll trade you for my Pot-o-Eyes!" she giggled, plunking a jar full of real eyes in front of Bobbery. He drew away from it in disgust, but took it anyway.  
"That explains the eyeless bodies." Jojora whispered to Koops, who was on the verge of puking.  
Loopy downed an entire glass of the gray liquid and slammed the cup onto the table as if she had just drank a shot of alcohol. "Great! Now that the rules are settled, let's begin!"

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm betting that you're all smart enough to guess who Loopy is, but why do you think she got to be the way she is? Leave any speculations in the form of a review, and vote for who you want to live!**

**Oh, and I apologize. People are going to die NEXT chapter, so be prepared!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

House of the Reaper

"What the hell is taking them so long?"

Roy growled and sat back, tapping his foot impatiently on the wooden floor. "I'm really getting bored here!"

"Than maybe you'd like to take a shift?" DK asked, panting as he held the scythe up to the best of his ability.

"Nah, I'm good."

Ms. Mowz hopped out of her seat and turned to her friends, a serious expression on her face. "I believe that Roy is right, for once. We cannot simply sit here and wait for something to happen. Perhaps there is something we can do in the meantime that will assist our escape efforts. I say we explore this house a little more thoroughly."

Roy stood up and joined her. "Fine by me. I'm sick of waiting. Let's get some action going!"

"What about the scythe?" Goombella asked. "We can't just leave it without a back up person to hold it."

"Well, how 'bout you make yourself useful and take it for DK when he gets tired, a'ight toots?"

Goombella sighed angrily at Roy's rudely put suggestion, but said nothing.

Toadette, who had said nothing since Yoshi's death, stood up and looked at Roy and Ms. Mowz, a spark of determination and hidden fury in her eyes. "I'm coming too."

Roy looked at her skeptically, but Ms. Mowz nodded at her and smiled. "Of course. I'm sure we could use your help."

"Well what are we waitin' for?" the Koopaling shouted, a sneer spreading across his face. "Let's go!"

Goombella watched as they left the living room to explore the rest of the house. "God, I hope they find something. The sooner we get out of this hell, the better."

"I agree." DK said, then politely asked, "Hey, if it isn't too much trouble, do ya think you can hold this for a bit? My muscles are tired and my head hurts."

Goombella nodded quickly and rushed forward. When she had securely positioned herself under the scythe's handle, DK let go, giving out a great sigh as he did so.

Instantly, Goombella's mind and body was assaulted. Her muscles strained as she struggled to lift the scythe, but the mental devastation was far worse.

Whenever anyone else had held the cursed scythe, they had never spoken about what they had seen or felt. Now Goombella knew why. The images that flew through her brain were gory and dark. Sounds assailed her as well, most sounding like the wails of tortured souls and others an indefinable screeching noise, like one would hear if they would try to listen to a damaged audio recording. There was nothing she could do to stop these horrors, so she tried to bear them as much as she could.

_'I hope they come back soon...'_ she thought to herself.

7Z7Z7Z7

Roy, Toadette, and Ms. Mowz had decided to skip checking upstairs since they already knew that every room but the ones that the had unlocked were inaccessible. Instead, they decided to see what they could find in what they assumed to be the basement.

"Do we really have to go down there?" Roy complained. "I mean, I'm all for adventuring, but don't really terrible things usually happen to the morons who go into basements in horror movies?"

Ms. Mowz smiled playfully at him. "Oh, come on, Roy. It's not like anything of that nature would happen to us. We'll be fine!"

Roy shrugged and shook his head, but pushed the door open anyways, revealing a set of stairs that led down into the impenetrable darkness.

"Ladies first." he said sarcastically, flourishing with one hand and holding the door open with the other.

Ms. Mowz returned his smirk and casually trotted down the stairs, Toadette following close behind, still mysteriously silent.

When they had gone down, Roy followed them, taking one last look at the safe area he was leaving before closing the door behind him.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, carefully making their way down the seemingly endless flight of stairs.

Finally, Ms. Mowz called out to the other two.

"I think we're at the bottom. It's flat here."

Roy carefully extended his arm, eliciting a frightened squeak from Toadette when his arm brushed her shoulder.

"Relax." he groaned. "Just trying to know what's in front of me."

Unfortunately, Roy was not simply able to reach out and pull a cord, illuminating the pitch black room.

_'Noooo.'_ he thought to himself_. 'Cause that would be too easy.'_

He took a few steps forward, and bumped face first into something, hard.

"Dammit!" he roared, holding his injured nose. "I can't see shit!"

Ms. Mowz sighed at his excessive cursing and stepped forward, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps you should follow me? I can't see particularly well, but I can make out darker shapes in this place, so I can make sure that we won't run into anything."

Roy shrugged, but jumped when Toadette suddenly gasped. "The stairs! The door! Where did we come down from!?"

He heard her scamper around, frantically searching for their exit as Ms. Mowz tried her best to calm her.

"Toadette! Toadette! Calm down! I can see the stairs-well, the shape, anyway. We can get out whenever we want, but first, let's look around a bit, okay?"

Toadette was hyperventilating, but she soon stood still, clinging to Ms. Mowz as if she were a lifeline.

Roy rolled his eyes, an unseen gesture that would have earned him glares if it had been visible to anyone else, and the small group continued on. Roy was holding onto Ms. Mowz's hand, and Toadette was holding onto Roy's, making a small chain so they wouldn't get lost.

"Well, isn't this swell." he said cynically. "I feel like we're all good buddies now, wouldn't ya say? Just the three of us, takin' a little field trip in the dark, scary basement that's probably infested with zombies or something. What a great bonding experience!"

Toadette muttered something and Ms. Mowz remained silent, too focused in leading the way to care about Roy's sarcastic comments.

Eventually, Roy could see a tiny pinprick of light in the distance, and his friends noticed it too.

"Well, unless anyone objects, I say we head there." he said.

"Agreed." the mouse thief nodded. Toadette said nothing.

The light was streaming in through an ajar door, and when the group entered into the next room, Roy was relieved to finally be able to see once more, even if the light burned his eyes initially.

They seemed to be in some sort of store room. Cardboard boxes, crates, and shelves stocked with assortments of various items that were useless to them such as paper or printer cartridges were placed around the room in aisles, creating an organized appearance. Lamps hung from the ceiling and the entire place reminded Roy of a warehouse. The room was also extremely large, the endless rows of shelves and boxes stretching as far as he could see.

There didn't seem to be anything of note, at least from what they could see. However, the absolute silence in the room was deafening and eerie, overwhelming the Koopaling and his female friends, leaving them with a very suffocated and uncomfortable feeling.

"Let's look around, I guess." Ms. Mowz finally suggested, and the other two nodded, grateful for the small break in the creepy silence.

They split up to search more efficiently, deciding that there was nothing that could endanger them in the room, though none of them admitted that they felt like they were being watched.

Ms. Mowz was just opening the first box she came by and sifting through the packaging peanuts when she heard Roy cry out.

"Whoa! Sweet!"

"What is it? Did you find something?" she called.

"You bet I did! I found a pack of smokes!"

Ms. Mowz sighed, crestfallen. Clearly, that was not a useful clue.

There was a shuffling sound as Roy opened the cigarette box, then his voice resounding in a sigh of disbelief and disappointment.

"What!? Only one left!? Just my goddamn luck..."

Ms. Mowz returned to searching, but quickly paused when a smaller box fell down from a high shelf to her right.

The sudden thump had startled her, and she cursed herself for allowing something like that to throw her off for even a second. She leaned down once more, hoping to find something in the box, but jerked her head up once more when she heard a sound.

There was no doubt about it. She had heard nails scratching against metal, a fleeting sound, as if some sort of animal were running across a metal beam, its claws clicking against the metal.

Her head darted back and forth, up and around her, but she couldn't locate the source.

Slowly, she went back to work, now cautious and alert.

She had let her guard down before, something a master thief like her would never do, and she cursed herself for it. But not anymore. She was ready to dash on a moment's notice, ready to flee from peril if even the slightest bit of danger was to come her way. Every whisker and hair stood on end, partly in awareness, partly in fear.

Something was watching them, and she had to be ready.

7Z7Z7Z7

Loopy tapped her chin thoughtfully as she stared at the ceiling. Bobbery, Tiny, Jojora, and Koops felt extremely uncomfortable, surrounded by smelly, rotting carcasses as they waited for the psychotic female to think of a riddle to ask them.

Jojora was just about to make a sarcastic statement, something she wasn't afraid to do, even in the presence of a dangerous psychopath, but was cut off as Loopy slammed her hands on the table and leaned forward, tipping her chair over and startling her opponents.

"I got one! I got one! Okay, ready?"

_'Slowly creeping._

_Causes weeping._

_The strongest men fear it._

_The weakest accept it._

_Some seek to spread it._

_Others seek to slow it._

_But one thing's for sure,_

_there is no cure.'_

"So, what is it?"

The four weren't expecting such a difficult question right from the start, but nonetheless, they put their heads together to think of an answer.

"Slowly creeping...causes weeping..." Tiny muttered slowly. "Well, what do we know that's slow and makes people cry?"

"Pain?" Koops suggested, then elaborated when he saw the curious expressions on everyone's faces. "Well, when people experience pain for long periods of time, they tend to cry, don't they? For example, if someone were to smack me right now, I wouldn't really start tearing up right away."

"We can always test that." Jojora said snidely.

Koops continued, unfazed. "But if someone were to slap me multiple times over the course of a few minutes, I might start crying a bit."

"That's just you." Jojora interrupted. "Not everyone's a wuss like you."

"It was just a suggestion..." Koops said quietly, lowering his gaze.

"'The strongest men fear it, the weakest accept it'." Bobbery recited. "I don't know what that could mean."

"'Some seek to spread it, others seek to slow it'." Tiny said. "Maybe it means a disease? Like, doctors want to get rid of diseases, but maybe someone using bio-weapons wouldn't want that."

"That would go against the fact that there's no cure." Jojora countered. "Doctor's can cure diseases, but they can't cure whatever this is."

They thought in silence for a few minutes, someone opening their mouth to speak every so often, but then closing it and sitting back, shaking their head in frustration, unable to come up with a good idea.

Loopy was resting her head on her hand, looking extremely bored. "Look, if you guys aren't gonna answer, I'm just gonna eat ya."

Jojora held her hand out, silencing her. She was staring straight ahead, and one could almost see the the puzzle being pieced together in her mind. "Wait, I think I know it. Death."

"Death?" Tiny repeated. "Please explain."

"Think about it. 'Always creeping, causes weeping'. Well, death is always haunting us, and people cry when their loved ones die. 'The strongest men fear it'; Who wouldn't fear death? But the second part was tricky, 'The weakest accept it'. I thought that it was most likely referring to suicidal people. I may be wrong, but it's just a theory. 'Some seek to spread it', murderers, 'some seek to slow it'. Tiny's idea helped me here, and I came up with doctors, or other health professionals. 'But one thing's for sure, there is no cure'. Obviously, there's no cure for death."

Slowly, the other's came to her level of understanding, giving many nods of approval as they began to match the fairy's idea with the riddle.

"I see." Bobbery said slowly. "I can see why you'd say that, but are you absolutely certain? We only got one shot at this."

Jojora nodded firmly, confident with her answer.

"So, is that your final answer?" Loopy asked, twirling her dirty blond hair around a grimy finger.

"Yes." the Bob-omb said. "We believe that the answer is 'death'."

She sighed and sat back, kicking a nearby dead body in the shins, disappointed. "Oh, and I thought I'd get you on that one for sure."

The four sighed in relief, glad that they had overcome the challenge.

"Now, ask me one! Ask me one!"

Loopy moved into a squatting position on her chair and rocked it back and forth, smiling widely, her eyes darting back and forth between her guests.

Bobbery let out a huff of air, something he often did when struggling to think of something long forgotten. Needless to say, he had done it quite often recently, as he tried to recall any memory of his life before he awoke in the strange house. But, alas, he could not, and he only succeeded in annoying Jojora, who seemed to fume over the smallest things.

"Any day now, old timer." Jojora groaned, letting her head fall back so she could stare at the ceiling.

"Hold on, I got one." he assured her, then turned to Loopy, who was bouncing slightly, anticipating a worthy riddle.

_'A Goomba, a Pokey, a Hammer Bro., a Swoop, a Dry Bones, a Boo, and a Paratroopa are all the suspects of a murder. The murder took place in a pitch black room, there were no witnesses, and the victim did not appear to have blood on their body or around them. The victim's body was found near a fireplace, and the police suspect that it was recently ablaze, since smoke was still rising from the burnt logs. A mirror was also found near the body. Who is the murderer and how did they kill the victim?'_

Bobbery knew that it wasn't too tough a question, as long as one took the time to think about the suspects and circumstances carefully, but it was the best he could do on such short notice. Really, it could have been a lot worse.

"Hmmm..." Loopy hummed contentedly. She had finally been issued a challenge, something she had been long awaiting. However, she was much smarter than she appeared, and she didn't think that a mystery like this would take her too long to solve.

"First I'll review the suspects." she said, more to herself than the others. "There's a Goomba, a Pokey, a Hammer Bro., a Swoop, a Dry Bones, a Boo, and a Paratroopa. There's no blood, so I'll rule out the Pokey, who wouldn't be able to kill them except for with their spikes. The room was also pitch black, meaning that the murderer would have to be able to see well in the dark. That leaves the Swoop, the Boo, and the Dry Bones. However, there was a fire, so I doubt a Dry Bones would go anywhere near that, their bones might risk burning! Boos are shy, so if the victim was looking in a mirror, they would be able to see it behind them, and the Boo would become paralyzed, so that's a no to the little ghostie. So that leaves the Swoop. Except I don't know how he killed the victim. Now, a Hammer Bro., could use a hammer, and a Paratroopa could snap their neck or strangle them, so-wait! That's it! He suffocated the victim with his wings! Ha ha! But the fire, what about that? Well, I suppose he blew it out with a gust of his wings so he would remain unseen, used his night sensors like sonar to locate the victim, than clamped his wings around his face and cut off his air supply! Genius!"

When Loopy had finished her rant, she hopped from her chair and danced around, feeling very confident.

The four sane people in the room were surprised at how quickly Loopy had come to her conclusion, and the solid logic she had used to reach it.

"I say it's that batty Swoop! He did it!" she cackled, kissing a dead man's corpse in celebration.

Bobbery nodded, bewildered and worried. Loopy didn't seem like she would be easy to beat, and now it was her turn to ask a riddle.

And if they gave a wrong answer, they would die.

She was about to open her mouth, but was interrupted.

A loud roar rang out and dead bodies went flying as a huge mass crashed through the row of chairs on Koops's and Jojora's side. A large, misshapen figure, barely humanoid, crashed into the wall near the elevator, knocking over Jojora and carrying Koops with it in the process.

It had gray, blistered skin, and it's face looked like it had been bashed in with a frying pan multiple times, its nose missing completely. The monster was bald, and the few teeth that still hung in its gaping mouth were black and thick. Its forehead hung over its eyes, giving it a perpetual scowl. It was a bit larger than DK, and it had one oversized right arm, the limp, skinny left arm hanging uselessly by its side, a faded white glove hanging on the tiny hand. It wore a pair of old blue overalls.

Bobbery and Tiny gasped in horror when they saw that it had Koops pinned between its big arm and the wall. It screamed in his face, a sort of raspy, scratchy sound that seemed to be mixed with the moo of a cow's voice.

As if being pinned by a frightening beast wasn't bad enough, Koops was now covered in its slobbery drool, and was quite terrified.

The monster drew its arm back and prepared to bash the Koopa against the wall, but Loopy stood up and gripped its arm, pulling on it firmly.

"No, no, no, Mario! That's a guest! Put him down!"

At Loopy's pleas, 'Mario' stared intently at Koops as if he was trying to decide if it would be more worthwhile to listen to her, or just crush the turtle boy for the fun of it.

Eventually, one gave a grunt a lowered Koops to the ground.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Koops ran back to his friends, pointing at the monster in horror. "W-w-w-what is that th-th-thing!?"

Loopy looked confused, as if it was an ordinary occurrence to see a six foot deformed monster. "You mean Mario? Don't worry, he's fine. He's really sweet, and I promise he'll behave, so he can stay."

The matter wasn't up for discussion. Even if the four weren't afraid of Loopy, the huge brute Mario threw any thoughts of objection out the window, especially since he obeyed Loopy. Now they definitely couldn't fight their way out of this one.

"Oh, Mario! You lost your hat again, didn't you?" the blond girl said casually, walking out of the room and into the one that Mario had come out of. She came back a moment later and perched a dirty red cap on his bald head, a red letter 'M' barely visible on its front. She stood back and smiled at him. The other four couldn't determine what he thought of it, however, since he only stood there staring at them, hunched over with his large arm lying on the floor, his anvil-like forehead making him glare at them.

Loopy turned to her guests, a smile visible under her wild dirty hair. "Mario and I have been together for such a long time. Even before The Day of Judgement. But that's a story for another time."

Bobbery was just about to ask what she meant by The Day of Judgement, but Loopy snapped her fingers and dashed out of the room. "Ooh! I forgot to write in my journal today! I'll be right back, then we can continue with our game!"

When she had left, the others exchanged glances with one another, wondering if now was the time to search for the key and run. Tiny was halfway out of her seat when Mario growled at her, warning her to stay seated. She looked to Bobbery for direction, and when he shook his head, she sat down once more.

Bobbery glanced around the room, trying to locate where the key might be hidden, but couldn't find anything besides dead bodies, ownerless eyes, and discarded papers.

Koops did not feel well. When he had been slammed into the wall, he hit his head pretty hard, and his heart was still racing from the shock of the event.

He glanced at Jojora and saw that she was rubbing her wounds, grimacing in pain. Really, she had more of a reason to complain. She had been stabbed in many places and hadn't received any real medical attention. But she was toughing it out, so Koops should too.

He jumped when he heard Loopy's voice in the adjacent room. She appeared to be singing a cheerful, upbeat song, but the lyrics didn't exactly match the tune.

_When all hell breaks loose and floods the land,_

_just one place marks your final stand._

_In the forest, so calm and green,_

_a place awaits your heroic team._

_Hey! The very merry Woodland Stump!_

_You say 'hello' and it eats you up!_

_In the forest it stands alone,_

_its secrets just waiting to be shown._

_As the damned stretch their hands out,_

_and claw your back as you scream and shout,_

_know that other people just like you,_

_tried to run to this safe place too._

_Hey! The very merry Woodland Stump!_

_You say 'hello' and it eats you up!_

_In the forest it stands alone,_

_its secrets just waiting to be shown._

_When you reach this very sacred place,_

_there's still some trials that you must face._

_For protection like this ain't cheap!_

_So try, or die and join the heap!_

_Hey! The very merry Woodland Stump!_

_You say 'hello' and it eats you up!_

_In the forest it stands alone,_

_its secrets just waiting to be shown._

The song made the foursome feel uneasy and it creeped them out, and it didn't help that Mario was staring them down the whole time.

Suddenly, Jojora stood up, knocking her chair over in the process. She waved at Mario, a smirk on her face. He roared and charged towards her, but she dodged at the last moment, sending the monster crashing into a cabinet and causing a jar of eyes to fall on him.

The blue fairy then broke open another jar of eyes and grabbed a golden object that was in it as well. The key.

She turned to her friends who were still seated, dumbstruck. "What the hell are you guys doing!? Move, move, move!"

This drew them from their trance and they got up, nearly tripping over the corpses littering the floor as they made for the elevator.

When they had all made it inside, Tiny rapidly pushed the button that would bring them to the first floor. Mario was already getting up, and they didn't want him to come along.

"Mario, dearie, what was that noise?" a curious Loopy asked, walking back into the main room. When she saw the four people standing in the elevator, wide eyed and panicked, one with a gold key in her hand, she growled in fury.

"Cheaters!" she screamed, drawing her knife and leaping over the table to reach them. Mario was now on his feet as well, and he was making another run to catch the four.

"Come on, come on!" Tiny moaned impatiently as the doors slid shut. At the last second, they closed, a loud thud on the other side and a furious shriek the last thing they heard.

"Wow...I can't believe you just did that!" Tiny said to Jojora, smiling nervously.

Jojora had one hand to her chest, feeling the beat of her racing heart. She returned Tiny's smile and said, "I can't either. But it worked, didn't it?"

"It's not over yet." Bobbery warned. "They're gonna be following us, so as soon as this thing gets down there, we need to run like like hell."

The two girls nodded, but Koops asked a question, his furrowed brow making it evident that he was worried. "What about the hanging bodies?"

Nobody had an answer right away, but Tiny tried her best to reassure the group. "Well, they're just bodies, right? I don't think we have anything to worry about."

There were murmurs of agreement and nods of heads, but nobody was completely sure.

They were silent until the elevator reached its destination. When the doors opened, they were met with the same sight they had seen when they left. The lit, metal hallway with the thick iron door at the end closed.

"All right, quickly now, quickly now." Bobbery ordered, and he and Tiny ran out.

Jojora and Koops were about to follow, but they hesitated when they heard a snapping noise.

Suddenly, the elevator fell downwards at an alarming speed. The two gripped the walls to try to support themselves as it fell past floor after floor. Finally, it stopped as suddenly as it had started, causing the two to fall flat on their faces. Miraculously, they were alive and relatively unharmed.

"God, what just happened?" Koops asked, holding his throbbing head.

"Isn't it obvious?" his partner said. "The freakin' elevator cord snapped and now we're doomed. Just wonderful!"

"Maybe not."

Koops stepped forward and placed his fingers in the thin opening between the closed elevator doors before him. He struggled to pull them apart, and when Jojora could see a light on the other side, she helped him to push the doors apart.

When they completed their task, they stepped out into the room, hoping to find a way back to their friends.

7Z7Z7Z7

Ms. Mowz opened another box, not expecting to find anything useful. As she had predicted, she was correct.

She sighed and leaned on one of the shelves. She estimated that at least a half of an hour had passed by, and their efforts had been fruitless. Perhaps there was nothing down here and they should just head back. They hadn't even run into any trouble.

She put her hand out to lean on what she thought was a metal bar, but stumbled as a box slid out from under her hand. She walked to the other side of the shelf and picked the box up, checking it's contents just for the heck of it.

She was surprised to see a tape recorder in it. She grew curious as she stared at it, wondering what could be recorded on it. She was about to put it back in the box, figuring that there was either nothing on it or nothing worth listening to, but she found herself pressing the button to play it anyways.

A moment passed where no sound came, but she soon heard a female's voice through the speakers.

"Entry number ten, day...I don't know, hour...I'm not sure. As I've said before, it's hard to determine how much time has passed in this place. So far, our group is cooperating...well, MOST of us. Boon, Shyloh, and Wendy ran off to follow Wario. As stated in previous entries, he's been suspecting Lakilester of foul play ever since he abandoned Daisy in the poison chamber. When we tried to defend him, saying that there was nothing he could do to help her at the time, he called us traitors and left our group with the others I mentioned earlier. It's a train wreck, really. And what makes matters worse is that Peach seems to be losing it. When Mario was mobbed by those...things...we had no choice but to leave him. Now she's just following along with us, muttering to herself and drawing pictures. She's really starting to worry me. But at least one good thing has happened. While exploring some storage area in the basement, we found-"

"Kori, are you still messing around with those diary things?" a male's voice cut in. It was harsh, as if the person talking was used to putting people down and having them hate him.

"It's not a diary! It's an audio log! And I'm keeping them because we never know when we'll have to review through these for some info we may have forgotten. It's best to be prepared."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Hey guys, shouldn't we keep moving? I think the next room is up ahead, and the faster we go through it, the faster we can get out of here." a third voice cut in, a male's, friendly sounding.

"Goddamn, I hate it when you talk, Toad." the second voice groaned. "You're always so optimistic."

"You should try it sometime, James. Might make people like you a bit more." Kori chided.

"Whatever. It still won't change the fact that we're all gonna die in this place."

Kori sighed and spoke once more, her voice now full of sadness, regret, and fatigue. "We never should have come here in the first place. Now I'm starting to think our chances out there were better. And I led us right in here. It's my fault.

"Come on, Kori. You couldn't have known all of this would have happened." Toad said, trying to cheer her up. "We were starving and in danger out there, and you did what was right. And, hey, on the bright side, there was food in the kitchen!"

The two laughed weakly until James cut in, laughing along in a sarcastic manner.

"Ha ha ha ha ha." he said flatly. "Now if your little comedy show is over, let's go, I'm already sick of this place."

The other two sighed and the recording stopped, signaling that it was over.

"What are you doing?"

Ms. Mowz spun around to see Toadette standing at the end of the aisle, a suspicious look on her face. "I thought I heard voices."

"Voices? You must be imagining things." Ms. Mowz told her. "The brain starts to go a little wacky after long periods of time without sleep, and who knows how long you've been awake? Maybe you just need some rest."

Toadette frowned at her, looking her up and down. Ms. Mowz had dropped the tape recorder back into the box to hide it from sight, so Toadette couldn't find anything out of place.

Eventually, she turned and walked on, still not completely trusting Ms. Mowz.

The mouse thief sighed in relief and plucked the device from the box again. She wasn't sure why, but she felt that she needed to keep this a secret from the others for a while. Or at least from Toadette. She seemed to be paranoid about everyone and everything lately, and she didn't want her to make a fuss about the recording.

Ms. Mowz thought hard about what she had just listened to. Could it have been possible that other people were here before them? And if so, what had become of them? Had they found an escape?

Hope surged through her, and she desperately searched for more audio tapes. Perhaps Kori had left more of them behind, and if they didn't tell her where the exit was, they might at least give her some other clues to reaching it.

She jerked her head up to a shelf when she heard the rapid clicking noise once more. She had let her guard down again in light of her recent discovery. However, she was quick enough to catch a glimpse of what was watching her as it dashed by overhead.

It was a small, humanoid figure, about the size of small monkey. Its head was bulbous and bald, and it had a large set of round, black eyes set into its face. It reminded Ms. Mowz of pictures she had seen, most likely before the time she awoke in the house, of cartoonish aliens, except for the fact that its skin was entirely gray.

It paused, half hidden behind a box, one huge, unblinking black eye staring back at her for what seemed an eternity. It showed no signs of hostility. In fact, it seemed more afraid of her than she was if it.

She cautiously approached, intending to speak with it, but when she failed to conjure any words, it scampered away.

"Wait!" she called after it. "I just wanted to know if there are any...more tapes..." her voice trailed off. She realized how foolish she seemed for talking to some brainless beast. Instead, she continued to search through boxes, hoping that luck would help her find more tapes.

Suddenly, she heard the clicking noise again, and she looked up to see that the creature was there once more. In its tiny hands, it clutched another tape recorder. It dropped it and Ms. Mowz fumbled with it as it fell into her hands. When she had it firmly in her hands, she looked up again, now finding the creature watching her halfway behind a box. She was slightly creeped out by its unblinking stare, but stared at the object in her hands and pressed the button on it, feeling its huge eyes boring into her skull like a drill.

"Entry sixteen." Kori's voice said. It sounded as if it was trying to hold back tears, a choking sound emitted during the second word. She sniffed a few times before continuing again. "I...almost everyone's dead. There were twenty of us when we started, but now there's only five. Just me, Toad, James, Elise, and Peach. All the others...Wario killed them. We found him and his gang in some sort of room where we needed to light torches to solve a puzzle. He had some sort of mask with him. It looked like a skull, or something, I don't know, but he put it one and...he just started killing people!..." Kori began to sob again. It was several seconds before she could continue again. "He killed them with his bare hands, too. There's no way he could have been that powerful, though. That mask must have done something to him, because he was able to rip Shyloh in half like he was a sheet of paper. Oh, god, it was horrible...I'm still covered in his blood...we couldn't take the mask off, though. It was like it was glued to his face or something. So...James...he..." she sobbed again and this time could not finish her sentence, but Ms. Mowz didn't need her to. "I mean, I never really liked him, but...anyways, we were able to take the mask off after he was dead, but we couldn't destroy it. We didn't have any other ideas, so we just put it in the storage room in the basement. At least there, no one will be able to touch it."

As if on cue, Ms. Mowz heard Roy exclaim from the other end of the room.

"Hey, guys! I think I found a clue!"

"What is it Roy?" she asked impatiently, already annoyed with the 'clues' he had contributed earlier, which consisted of a paper clip, a packet of papers with computer codes on them, a stapler, and a ballpoint pen. All proved to be utterly useless, but Roy claimed that they were important, though Ms. Mowz seriously doubted it and knew that Roy was just trying to mess with her.

"Hell, I don't know." the Koopaling responded. "Looks like some sort of mask."

Ms. Mowz's heart skipped a beat. Did he just say mask?

"Hey, come check it out! I might look good in it-Ouch! What the-?"

She could hear a mad giggling sound from where Roy's voice was and the sound of something thumping as it hit the floor. Another clicking sound could be heard as something dashed away from his voice and toward her. A black form sped by, and Ms. Mowz was able to identify the figure as Mischief, making for the exit with a mask identical to his in his hands.

The thief ran out of the aisle and watched as Mischief dashed out the door and into the dark basement. She was soon joined by Roy and Toadette, who were both surprised to see the imp.

"That little freak just jacked my mask!" Roy yelled, pointing in the direction he had run.

"Come on, let's go." Ms. Mowz commanded, running after him. Her friends followed, but were curious.

"Whoa! Where are we going all of a sudden? He just took a mask, what's the big deal?" he asked as he ran alongside her.

"If only you knew..." she whispered, Kori's words still fresh in her mind.

**Well, that's the end of that chapter.**

**Oh, and I lied. No one died this chapter. But next chapter for sure! So keep your hopes up for those you want to see gone, and pray that those you like live!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I wanted to release this chapter a bit earlier since it's been done for some time now, but I wanted to wait until I got to my dad's house to do it so I could use my good computer. Anyways, here's chapter six!**

House of the Reaper

"Koops! Jojora!" Tiny screamed, running to where the elevator had been before it had begun its sudden and perilous plunge. Bobbery held her back and pulled her with him to the door.

"Do you remember anything about them? Are any memories returning to you?"

"What? No, but-"

"Then they're still alive."

Tiny swallowed back a sob and nodded, understanding his logic. If they had died, the Reaper would have already given them back their memories of the two as a cruel joke. Still, she worried about them. Being separated at such a crucial moment was a huge problem.

Soon, she would have much bigger problems to worry about.

When Bobbery flung the door open, they found the same scene that they had left. The bodies hanging from the ceiling were motionless and eerie, but they began to twitch violently when the light fell upon them.

"No problem. Let's just go." the elderly Bob-omb said, leading his partner through the dark room. They stopped, however, when they heard Loopy's voice over some sort of intercom.

"Attention all minions! We have two little snacks who think they can escape! I know that you're all starving, so what do ya say we let you guys off the hook..."

Her voice paused for a moment, and a clicking sound echoed through the room. The hooks detached themselves from the ceiling, and the bodies fell to the floor in a resounding thud.

"...and shed a little light on the problem!"

The two shielded their eyes as lights blazed throughout the room, temporarily blinding them. When they recovered, they saw the eyeless corpses standing up and growling at them, snarling and baring their crooked teeth.

Then they chased them.

"RUN!" Bobbery ordered, but Tiny was way ahead of him.

The light was both a blessing and a curse. They were now able to see the exit at the opposite end of the huge room, but it seemed to agitate the undead mob and send them running after the two mortals.

More corpses were falling from hooks on the ceiling, and quickly rising to chase them. More than once they had to dodge some monsters that were ahead of them or shove them out of the way. They usually avoided the latter due to the fact that their claws and teeth were also within shoving distance.

As if it wasn't bad enough having a horde of zombies chasing after them, Loopy and Mario had somehow made their way down and were bringing up the rear of the group. The running corpses weren't attacking Loopy for some reason. In fact, she seemed to command them somehow, ordering them to run faster or throw loose limbs at the intruders.

If Tiny was having trouble running away, Bobbery had a worse time about it. He wheezed and panted, often slowing down to catch his breath, but speeding up again as the creatures caught up. More than once he felt the burning agony of their sharp nails slicing the skin on his back, a constant reminder to keep pushing himself forward. The exhaustion, while nearly unbearable, was nowhere near the level of pain he would be feeling if he stopped.

"We're almost there! Come on Bobbery!" Tiny urged him, trying to pull him forward as he lagged behind.

He was panting in exhaustion, unable to continue for much longer. "I don't think it matters, kid. These things are gonna overwhelm us any minute now."

Tiny risked a glance back and saw that he was right. They were only a few feet behind, and were closing in fast. They would be overrun before they would even reach the door.

'Come on.' she thought. 'There's gotta be a way out of this. Think, think, think, think!'

Her eyes glided over the jar of eyes that Bobbery was still holding. He must have taken it with him without meaning to and forgotten to ditch it or might have had a purpose for it. Either way, it was only slowing him down.

She grabbed it from him and chucked it back into the crowd, knocking a few zombies over and covering them in glass shards. She heard a loud wail and turned in surprise, forgetting about her escape.

She didn't need to run, anyway. The horde had stopped and formed a ring around Loopy, who was kneeling next to the shattered remains of the jar. Eyes and a strange, multicolored liquid were spread among the mess, and Loopy was desperately trying to scoop everything back together again.

"No, no, no, NO!" Her eyes were more wild then ever, not in insanity, but in fear. "I've lost control! Now I can't control them!"

"W-what?" Tiny muttered, a baffled Bobbery staring at the spectacle as well, equally perplexed.

"The voodoo juice! It's lost its properties! It only worked in the jar!" Loopy covered her face in her hands, her eyes showing between the fingers. Then they locked onto Tiny's, and she backed away carefully as they filled with rage.

"You! You threw it! I'll kill you!"

She rushed forward to stab her, but one of the zombies caught her arm. It roared in her face, and she swiftly plunged the knife into its face, causing it to crumple to the ground. She made a move to grab the knife again, but more zombies surged forward and swarmed her, each showing extreme hostility. They pinned her to the floor, sinking their teeth into her flesh or raking their claws along her skin. Soon, her form was lost among the rotting bodies, and her screams of pain were drowned out by their furious growls as they piled on top of each other, fighting to get a bit of flesh. Even Mario had joined the throng, throwing zombies aside to get to the center so he could get a shot at Loopy, his hat tumbling off of his head and getting lost among the feet of those in the horde.

Two small spheres trailing blood flew above the mass of bodies and landed outside the group. They rolled toward Tiny and Bobbery until they finally stopped inches from their feet, and they nearly puked at the sight of Loopy's now empty eyes staring back at them.

"Come on." Bobbery said softly, his voice quavering at the horrible sight. "Come on, let's go."

Tiny nodded and sprinted for the exit with Bobbery, not wanting to be the next victim of the horde.

They didn't look back until they had reached the door. They spotted a light switch and flipped it, sending the room plunging into darkness once more. Instantly, the groans and roars stopped, but that didn't stop them from bolting through the door and slamming it shut behind them.

7Z7Z7Z7

"Well, I can already predict how this will turn out." Jojora sighed, leaning on the large glass panel behind her, ignoring the pounding and the muffled screams of the zombie-like creatures on the other side.

She and Koops had wandered out of the elevator to find a strange kart not too far ahead. It had blue wheels and was primarily red, with a blue stripe and a large red letter 'M' on the front in a white circle. It looked like it could fit two people, one driver, and one person in the back who would stand and hold onto the handlebars in front of them. It was rusted in places, but otherwise looked safe to operate.

The room they were in seemed like an underground parking garage. It was an undefinable distance from the floor to the ceiling since the walls seemed to steadily transition from a dull gray to pitch black the farther up one would look. There didn't seem to be an exit in sight, but lamps hung like spotlights from the ceiling, creating a path of light from their position to as far as they could see away from them.

The two seemed to be at one end of the room since there was a dead end to their right, with only a glass panel standing between them and a small room filled to the brim with eyeless corpses that were trying to break through so they could eat them.

"Maybe we're supposed to take this car?" Koops suggested, examining the driver's seat. He plucked a set of car keys, a pistol, and a katana from the seat, looking to Jojora for guidance. "I think it'll get us out of here quicker."

She threw her hands up and shrugged, walking to the kart and climbing onto the back. "Sure, whatever. I'll take the back and you can drive. Give me the gun and the sword. You know, just in case those things break through."

Koops eyed her suspiciously, curious as to why she would offer to be on the back so quickly, but dismissed his suspicions and handed her the weapons.

Luckily, the sword had a strap, so the ice fairy was able to strap it to her back while she gripped the handlebars firmly, her other hand holding the gun.

The pistol felt natural in her hand, its weight and shape familiar, as if it she was used to holding a gun. Jojora couldn't imagine why she felt this way, but dismissed the thought. She didn't need to worry about something like that now.

Koops put the key in the ignition and turned it. The car roared to life and he took off, startling Jojora and nearly making her slip off the vehicle.

As soon as they started moving, the glass panel that separated them from the zombies slowly started to lift, and they started chasing the car in droves, most ducking under the barrier to get a head start.

They were startlingly fast and could keep up just behind the car. Within seconds, a huge crowd was just behind them.

"Floor it, man! These things are hauling ass!" Jojora commanded, pointing the gun at the nearest marauder. She pulled the trigger and a bullet shot out, nailing the creature in the face. Its body fell to the ground and its comrades behind it tripped over it. The other zombies didn't even pause to run around the bodies. Instead, they trampled them, their eyeless sockets still fixed on the car in front of them.

The car zoomed forward, but the zombies kept up with it. Jojora unloaded shot after shot into their pursuers, but their numbers seemed endless. Whenever one would fall, another would take their place.

Jojora quickly checked to see how many bullets she had left in the clip. Seven were left. Not enough to take down the rest of the horde.

Nonetheless, she pointed the gun at the zombies and counted down the bullets she had left with each pull of the trigger. Six...five...four...three...two...

She paused, and time seemed to slow for a moment.

She watched the gnashing teeth of the zombies trailing in their tracks, their decaying arms reaching out to grab her.

She looked over her shoulder to see Koops, his face full of fear, his knuckles white as he clenched the steering wheel.

She looked at herself, standing on the back of a kart, fighting off an oncoming horde of monsters. The more she thought about it, the more futile it seemed. They couldn't escape. And even if they could, there was a good possibility that they wouldn't be able to escape the house. She might as well just end it, end her suffering and torment.

Jojora held the pistol to her head, and a brief memory flashed through her mind.

Shadowy figures, some lying motionless on the floor, others running, others attacking one another, were on the other side of a door. One was banging on the door, silently screaming and trying to get in.

She ignored it and aimed the pistol she was holding at herself. However, before she could pull the trigger, her vision went black.

Jojora shook her head, returning to the present. Had she just had a flashback? Had she just remembered a moment of her life before she awoke in the house?

She felt something cold and clammy wrap around her ankle, and the next moment she was swept off of her feet. Her right hand was just able to catch the handlebars, preventing her from falling off of the car. However, the gun had slipped from her grasp and fallen to the floor, the last bullet shooting out as it came into contact with the ground.

She glared at the beast clinging to her leg. Despite the fact that it was being dragged at an extremely high speed and its lower body had been torn off from the force, it was still trying to pull Jojora down, snapping its teeth at her face like she was a tasty meal that was just out of reach.

The fairy reached for her katana, kicking at the thing to try to get it off. "No...free...rides!"

She succeeded in bringing the sword down onto the creature's neck. It spurted blood, but didn't seem fazed. After another slice, its head flew off and the hand loosened its grip. The decapitated body fell away, and Jojora managed to pull herself back up.

"You okay back there?" Koops called back.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she panted, exhausted at the effort of hauling herself back onto the kart.

All she wanted was to take a break, but the creatures were far from finished. They increased their speed and some ran alongside the kart. Jojora was kept busy, constantly swinging her sword at them, trying her best to keep them away from Koops and herself.

Though it was tiring, she finally began to see a decrease in their ranks.

_'We might actually make it.'_ she thought, allowing a brief grin to flash across her face.

A loud, thunderous rumbling noise wiped the smile off her face.

Not so far behind the eyeless undead, a huge form was moving in the dark room. It roared in fury and charged forward, knocking the smaller creatures out of its way.

Even if Jojora still had the gun, she doubted that she would have been able to do any damage to the thing. It was gigantic and covered from head to toe in a shell-like armor. Spikes stuck out from the green shell, and the parts that weren't covered showed thick, tough gray skin. Horns protruded from its head in more places than one, one pair creating tusks near its mouth. It snorted and fire shot from its nostrils.

Like all of the other zombies, it had no eyes, but still seemed to know where they were.

Jojora felt her heart skip a beat as it closed the gap between them. She gasped, trying to find the words to speak. Finally, they burst forth from her mouth. "HOLY SHIT! DRIVE, DRIVE, DRIVE!"

Koops, who had unfortunately looked back, didn't need to be told twice. He stepped full force on the gas pedal, desperately trying to get away from the beast.

It was shockingly swift for its size, and within a few seconds, was within arm's length of their vehicle.

It grabbed the kart and held it over its head for a moment, causing the other creatures to crowd underneath the beast, jumping up and down in futility to reach their goal. It almost looked like a bully holding a precious toy over a group of younger children's heads.

As if it had decided that it was less interesting than it had thought, the giant hurled the kart forward, living beings and all.

Jojora landed, hitting her head on the hard, cold floor and nearly getting impaled by her own sword. She stood up and turned around.

Koops hadn't been as lucky. The kart had rolled onto its side, and while he seemed alive, it was crushing his right leg.

"Koops!" she screamed, running to his side. He was slowly regaining consciousness. When his eyes had fluttered open, he stared at Jojora dreamily for a moment. Then he groaned in pain and his hands flew to his leg, desperately trying to wrench it free.

"Hold still! Hold still!" she commanded, trying to lift the car off of him. It was extremely heavy, and she could barely manage to lift it a few inches.

She glanced up. The stampede of zombies hadn't given up on chasing their victims yet, and they drew nearer with each passing second.

This threw Jojora into a frenzy, and she frantically shoved the side of the kart. Eventually, she was able to lift it enough for Koops to slide his leg out. The Koopa tried to stand, but fell over, yelling in pain.

"Ah! I-I think my leg is broken!"

'_Perfect.'_

Jojora stopped and helped him up, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulder. Together, they walked at a limping pace to the rectangular shape of light before them, a speed that dissatisfied the fairy greatly.

_'Almost there.'_ she pushed herself. _'Almost there.'_

A glance over her shoulder told her that the zombies were closing in. Fast.

Her heart pounded quicker and Koops's weight felt heavier with each step. Sweat beaded her face and she had a sinking feeling that they wouldn't make it.

Just as they reached the door, Jojora shoved Koops through, eliciting a surprised grunt from the Koopa. She followed herself, attempting to slam the door shut behind her.

She sighed in relief when she did, but gasped when she saw a hand sticking through the doorway, trying to throw it open again. She leaned against the door as dozens of bodies crashed into the other side, and it was all she could do to just stay on her feet.

She watched as Koops struggled to get to his feet. He limped towards her, nearly tripping and falling to the ground again. When he reached her, he took the katana and sliced at the multitude of arms that had managed to wedge themselves in the doorway. The sharp sword lopped them off, and the door slammed shut, an almost inaudible click signaling that it had automatically locked.

The two dropped to the floor, panting. They nearly fell on the severed arms, but from how tired they were, they didn't really care.

"That was a little too close..." Koops wheezed trying to catch his breath. He handed the sword back to Jojora, who took it absentmindedly, not really paying attention to him.

She was thinking about the images she had seen earlier. What were they? Memories? False memories, somehow given to her by the Reaper? She didn't know, but she knew that it had to be important. Maybe it could give her some answers as to why she was here.

She thought about it all she could, but couldn't settle on any conclusions. She felt like it was linked to something she was forgetting, something extremely important, but like any personal memories she tried to recall, she couldn't remember.

"Where are we anyway?"

She looked up at Koops's comment, now wondering about their location herself, her thoughts momentarily pushed aside.

They seemed to be in some sort of storage room. It seemed like it went on forever.

"I don't know." Jojora responded in a flat voice. "But it's better than back there. I say we keep going in and try to find a way out."

Koops frowned at her, as if he was trying to decide if he could come up with a better plan. When he realized that they didn't have many options, he nodded and stood up, accepting help from Jojora.

Without another word, they explored the room, hoping to find an exit.

7Z7Z7Z7

"Would you mind explaining to me what the problem is exactly?" Roy panted, trailing behind Ms. Mowz. Mysteriously, she wasn't breathing any harder than normal, almost as if she was used to running so fast.

She kept her eyes locked forward as they ran through the dark basement. "Mischief stole that mask, and he can't be planning to do any good with it. We have to catch up to him and stop him!"

"Okay, but it's just a mask. What's the worst he can do with it?"

Ms. Mowz hesitated, unsure whether to tell Roy about the audio recording she had found. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like it was something better kept to herself. She didn't want to admit it, but she distrusted the others. Especially Roy.

But even though she felt that she should keep her findings to herself, she also felt like she had to tell someone. What if she were to die, and nobody would know about the previous victims? Sure, it's not like she had learned anything extremely valuable, like finding a way out, but it still seemed important.

'Fine.' she thought. 'I'll tell one other person. But I have to solve this mask problem first.'

As they approached the stairs, they heard a strange hissing sound. It was faint, but it sounded like gas escaping from a pipe.

They ignored it and began to climb the stairs, but dark blue flames suddenly appeared in the gap between Ms. Mowz and Roy.

"Gah! The hell!?" the Koopaling exlaimed, stumbling backwards and knocking Toadette and himself down the stairwell.

"Are you two okay?" Ms. Mowz asked.

Roy looked up, rubbing the bruise that was forming on his head.

Five blue flames were circling in a ring above one of the stairs, cutting off their path to Ms. Mowz. They didn't seem to give off any heat, but Roy didn't want to test out if they did or not.

As he watched, however, the flames seemed to shrink, ever so slowly.

"Go on!" he called to the mouse thief. "These things will be gone in a minute."

Ms. Mowz nodded in understanding. Then she sped up the rest of the stairs, leaving the other two below in the darkness.

Roy glanced at Toadette, suddenly realizing how quiet she had been. When Yoshi had died, she had mourned him as if he was a close friend, which was technically true, but since they hadn't really remembered him, it seemed a bit overdramatic. Then she had fallen silent, rarely talking and keeping to herself. With all of the events that had happened, Roy hadn't really gotten the chance to sit back and analyze his new partners. Though they seemed smart enough to cooperate decently well, he wasn't sure if he could trust all of them. And with the way Toadette had been acting, he was even more suspicious about her.

As he pondered what was going through the girl's head, he felt something wrap around his ankle. It felt slimy and wet, like an octopus tentacle.

"What the-?!" was all he managed to utter before the tentacle pulled him away deeper into the darkness.

"Help!" he screamed, clawing at the floor. He felt a small hand grip his, and he squeezed it as it tried its best to haul him back.

He could barely make out Toadette's face in the darkness, but she was struggling to pull him away from whatever had grabbed him. Luckily, her shoulder bumped into some sort of metal bar attached to the wall, and she had the sense to pull him nearer to it so he could grab onto something more stable.

Then, something changed. Her face morphed into an expression of realization, then a smile spread slowly across her lips, as if she had just devised the most brilliant plan ever.

She bent down and moved her face closer to Roy's, and in the dim, eerie light of the fading blue flames, he could see a glint of malice in her creepy grin.

"I never trusted you." she said in a voice barely more than a whisper. "And now, I can get rid of you! We'll all be saved once your gone, you mole!"

Roy stared at her, not sure whether to feel angry, shocked, or horrified. He settled on a combination of the three. "What are you talking about? Just help me!"

"You've been working with the Reaper all this time, haven't you? You had everyone else fooled, but I'm smarter! Trying to fight him? Helping us through the maze? Nice covers, but it doesn't excuse the fact that you've nearly killed us multiple times. But no more. Soon, you'll be gone, and we'll escape. You failed, traitor."

Slowly, she released her grip on his hand, pulling each finger away, one by one. When she had finally tugged her pinky out of his fist, he was immediately dragged away at an alarming speed.

"YOU BIIIIIIiiiiiiii..." Roy's voice faded away as did his figure, both sinking into the impenetrable darkness.

Toadette turned back to the stairs, and seeing that the fire was gone, trotted up, humming a merry tune.

7Z7Z7Z7

Roy couldn't see anything as he was roughly pulled away. It felt as though his leg had been caught in a rope knot, the other end tied to a car which had violently sped away with him attached.

Eventually, Roy felt a different kind of terrain under his stomach. It felt smoother than the gritty floor of the basement.

He opened his eyes, unsure when he had closed them. The inky blackness of the basement was so thick that it was impossible to tell if one's eyes were closed or not.

He was in a room washed with white light. The floors and walls were made out of baby blue colored bathroom tiles. It wasn't particularly large, but it wasn't too small either.

He felt the slimy thing detach from his ankle, and he immediately stood up and spun around, expecting to see some sort of octopus demon preparing to devour him.

However, there was nothing there except for a large, framed painting that took up the entire wall. There didn't seem to be anything special about it. It was completely green, the sort of color one would find on a billiard table.

Roy turned around again and sighed in relief as he spotted the exit, a big, rusted iron door just a few feet away from him.

He reached for the doorknob, but recoiled when he saw that the door was actually made out of human bones, so old and decayed that they were colored a dark brown. The doorknob itself was actually a shrunken skull.

Nevertheless, he turned it. But the door didn't open. He pushed all of his weight against it, then pulled back, but to no avail. He was trapped.

He turned around again, and gasped when he saw the painting. Over the green background, the face of a man was there, smiling at him. He wore a green cap with an 'L' on it, and his sleek, luscious mustache was trimmed to perfection. Roy could only see him from the chest up, but he seemed to be wearing blue overalls and a green shirt.

The Koopaling didn't sense anything weird about the picture. It was just a man with a friendly smile on his face. If anything, it would have made him chuckle at how goofy he looked with that dorky grin.

Suddenly, the lights shut off. Roy panicked and raised his fists, expecting something to come out of the darkness and attack him.

But as suddenly as it had happened, the lights turned on again.

Nothing had seemed to change about the room. Roy looked at the painting again, and it was still the man in green, smiling.

But wait, what was that? Roy could have sworn he saw the smallest hint of a smirk on the man's face.

Roy went closer to investigate, but the room blacked out again. Roy was startled, but the lights switched on once more.

Again, the room seemed unchanged. The door was still there, the walls were still tiled, the painting...wait, there was something wrong.

The man didn't look so friendly anymore. There was definitely a bit of evil in his eyes, a wider smirk across his lips. Even his stance looked a little off, as if he was leaning closer to Roy.

Roy shook his head, sensing that something was going to happen, and whatever it was, it wouldn't be good.

He turned back to check the door once more, but bumped his nose into something and stepped back, rubbing it.

It was the door. But how had he gotten so close? He distinctly remembered being at least a few feet away from it. It's almost as if it had...

...moved towards him.

The lights went out again, then came back on. Roy glanced back, and the man was grinning evilly. He looked at the door again, and it had moved closer.

The lights went out again, then came back on. The wall was now pushing him backwards as he struggled to open it, the skull-knob turning left and right, but not providing any use for the poor Koopaling.

The lights flicked off. The lights flicked on. The man was grinning sadistically. The wall had moved closer to the painting.

The rate at which the lights flicked on and off now seemed to be competing with the beating of his own heart. As he panicked, the lights flickered more and more. Each time he glanced back after the lights flickered, the man grew even creepier. His mouth started to open into a huge, black 'O'. His pupils dilated and his eyes glazed over. The iris seemed to swap colors with his black pupils, giving his face a demonic demeanor.

The lights went off. Roy struggled. The man's mouth widened. The wall pushed closer.

The cycle continued, growing more rapid with each rotation. Roy began to whimper in a very pathetic fashion, now banging on the door with his fists, desperately trying to escape. He threw out every curse word he knew, screaming at the top of his lungs in sheer terror. Tears streamed down his face, and he clawed at the bones, slowly realizing how futile his attempts were.

He was trapped, and he was going to die.

He drew his hand back in pain as he felt one of his claws break. He looked up to see that he had somehow managed to dislodge a sharp, dagger-like bone. He pulled it from the door, though didn't see how it could be of any use.

Finally, he turned around, sinking to the floor and clinging to the bone.

The man in the painting was now unrecognizable, both from his original form and any relation to a human being. His 'O' shaped mouth was stretched far too wide, and his eyes were mismatched, shapeless, and completely dark. The only things that remained the same were his clothes, although they did seem more worn out and had dried blood on them.

Roy cowered and shuddered as his heart pumped like a hummingbird on steroids. He was staring at his death, and though it looked like some sort of silly, abstract art, it terrified him beyond measure.

Finally, as if it had decided that Roy had been tortured enough, the man screamed, loud and ear piercing. It elicited a scream from Roy as well.

In an instant, the wall slammed against the painting as if someone had shut a book, and the screams were cut off.

7Z7Z7Z7

Ms. Mowz slid around the final corner and into the living room, expecting to find something terrible happening.

But the scene was just as she had left it, DK holding the scythe, and Goombella resting on the couch.

She looked up when Ms. Mowz entered. "Oh, you're back! Did you guys find anything?"

Ms. Mowz avoided her question. "Is everything okay? Nothing happened while we were gone, right? You haven't seen Mischief?"

"Um, no. What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Ms. Mowz sighed in relief and walked towards DK. She offered to hold the scythe, and he happily obliged.

DK backed up and flexed his arms, grimacing at how sore they felt. "Thanks. I didn't think I could hold it for much longer."

Ms. Mowz nodded and tried to focus, fighting against the morbid images flowing through her mind. She began to tell her friends about their expedition. She carefully left out the part where she had found the audio recording and met the monkey/alien creature. She wasn't truly sure she could tell them yet.

"When Mischief took the mask, I felt some sort of evil emanating from it." she lied. The mask obviously couldn't be anything could, but it hadn't given off any sort of menacing aura. But she had to come up with something to convince them of her worries. "Then we all ran back, afraid that he was heading for you two, just like Jojora."

Her allies nodded thoughtfully. Goombella was about to say something, but was interrupted by a loud wail.

Toadette ran into the room, tears flowing from her puffy red eyes. She ran to DK and hugged him close, weeping into his arm.

"Toadette? What's wrong? Are you okay?" the ape asked worriedly, gently moving her away from him so she could speak.

Toadette sniffled and spoke in a shaky voice. "R-Roy! He...he...he got c-caught by s-s-something and dragged away! I tried to h-help h-him, b-b-but..."

She couldn't continue, and burst into a fit of sobbing again. The others exchanged grim expressions, understanding the situation.

"Don't worry, Toadette." DK reassured her. He then turned to Goombella. "We may still have time. Let's go down and look for him."

"No!" Toadette grabbed his arm, and when he glanced at her oddly, she quickly said, "I-I don't want you to be taken either."

"She's probably right." Goombella agreed. "He's probably long gone by now. It's safe to assume that he's dead."

Toadette smirked slightly, but it went unnoticed.

"But what if he isn't!?" DK raised his voice, surprising the others. "What if he's still alive down there and needs our help? Are we just going to leave him there alone to die?"

"DK, I know how you feel. But there isn't anything we can do. Even if we were sure that we would be safe down there, there's no guarantee that we would even find him."

DK was about to protest, but Toadette shrieked when she spotted something running at DK.

Startled, he spun around. Mischief leaped at him and clung to his face, just like he had done to Koops.

He clawed at him as DK struggled to pull him off. The big ape stumbled around, nearly losing his balance and knocking Ms. Mowz.

Finally, Mischief slapped something over his face, and DK fell to the floor, motionless. The impish creature scampered away, laughing maniacally at his actions.

Goombella started to run after the creature, but Ms. Mowz stopped her. "Wait, it's no use chasing him. Check on DK."

Toadette edged towards his still body. She cautiously approached it, as if she was trying to sneak around a sleeping guard dog.

She inspected the object on his face. It was a mask, identical to the one that Mischief wore, except it was a bit larger in order to fit him.

Toadette carefully placed her hand on his arm, but jumped back when he suddenly sprang up.

"D-DK?" she whimpered.

He stared at her from behind the mask for a moment. He breathed heavily, as if he was trying to suck down air in a stuffy room. DK beat his fists against his chest and roared. Then he charged at Toadette.

Before Goombella could even scream, he had her in his oversized hands. She only had time to shriek a quick, "HELP! HE-" before she was ripped in two.

Blood splattered over Goombella, blinding her. Ms. Mowz nearly dropped the scythe at the gory sight.

DK roared again and threw the two halves of the Toad girl's body on the ground.

He turned to Ms. Mowz and slowly began to approach her.

She was already shaking from the strain of holding the scythe. Seeing Toadette die had only made it worse. Now, she was about to be killed by DK, a member of the group who had only strived to help and take care of everyone else.

Ms. Mowz glanced back. It seemed that Goombella couldn't be of any help. Even if she wasn't screaming in pain and trying to wipe Toadette's blood out of her eyes, the mouse thief seriously doubted that she could take down DK on her own.

"D-D-DK..." she whimpered. "Please, listen to me DK! This isn't you! Stop!"

He didn't listen to her. He only kept advancing, snorting like a rhino about to surge forward and gore something with its horn.

Ms. Mowz was at an impasse. She couldn't move, for she would drop the scythe and end up killing one of her friends, or possibly herself anyways. She couldn't defend herself since she was holding the scythe. There was nobody else capable of stopping the enraged ape.

Ms. Mowz shut her eyes tightly and braced herself as DK pulled his fist back, aiming a punch for her skull.

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Happy holidays!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, wassup? I just recently got back from a trip, so I had more than enough free time to catch up on my stories. Not much else to say I guess. Enjoy the chapter!**

**House of the Reaper**

"So, how exactly did you know that throwing that jar would cause the zombies to stop chasing us?"

Tiny sheepishly rubbed her head at Bobbery's question. "I didn't really know, actually. I just thought that it was slowing you down, so I chucked it."

Bobbery nodded and turned away. The two continued on down the hall in silence.

Though neither of them admitted it, they were both slightly suspicious of the other. Bobbery doubted that Tiny would have just thrown the jar for the heck of it. She must have known that it was connected to the zombies.

Tiny wondered why Bobbery had kept the jar in the first place. It hadn't really served any purpose, and since Jojora had ended the bet, there hadn't been any point in carrying it with them. Perhaps Bobbery had known that it was connected to the zombies?

Bobbery glanced at her and gave her an odd look, and Tiny realized that she had been staring at him for a moment too long. She quickly turned away, cleared her throat, and asked him, "So, what do you think happened to the others?"

"No idea, but I doubt that they're in any better a condition than we are."

"So...we should hurry back?"

"Exactly."

The two broke into a run, hoping that they could reach their friends soon.

7Z7Z7Z7

Koops sighed as he limped through the storage area, one arm wrapped around Jojora's shoulder for support.

His leg still hurt like hell, but at least he wasn't running from zombies anymore.

He groaned in pain again as a new wave of white hot agony shot up his leg. His arm slipped off of Jojora's shoulder and he crumpled to the floor, hissing in pain.

"Come on, get up!" Jojora snapped, roughly yanking him to his feet again. "I see the exit just up ahead. We're almost there."

Koops resumed the same position from earlier and the two continued on.

Jojora was the first to break the silence.

"Hey, Koops. You know all that shit I was saying earlier about you being weak and stuff? I was just joking."

Koops glanced at her in surprise. Her head was turned the other way, but he could see the hint of red on her cheek. For her, apologizing and complementing were clearly difficult.

He couldn't help but smile as she continued.

"You're a pretty strong person. Not psychically, of course, but mentally. You've gone through all of this insane crap and haven't snapped yet."

Koops felt slightly embarrassed, but he didn't know why. "Nah, I'm just good at not showing it..."

"No, I'm serious. Sometimes I'm not even sure if the stuff I'm doing is really what I want to do. Am I going insane? Have I already been insane?"

Koops opened his mouth, but stopped and stared at the floor instead, unable to provide an answer. He wanted to tell Jojora that everything was fine, that they would make it out, that no one was going crazy. But he seriously doubted it.

They walked for some time, lost in their thoughts. They didn't even notice that they had entered a dark, basement like room, but, miraculously, they found a staircase and ascended it.

As soon as they reached the top, they heard screaming.

"Goombella!" Koops gasped. Forgetting about his broken leg, he lunged forward, only to fall flat on his face.

"Koops, you have to be careful!" Jojora warned him. "I'll go check things out. You wait here!"

'Like I have a choice...' he thought bitterly.

He watched as Jojora drew her katana and ran down the hallway.

7Z7Z7Z7

The first thing Jojora did when she reached the living room was gasp.

Toadette was ripped in two, her top and bottom half lying in a pool of blood. Goombella was shrieking, desperately trying to wipe blood out of her eyes. Ms. Mowz was holding the scythe before a fuming DK, an odd mask on his face, his fist pulled back, ready to throw a punch.

She was still trying to process what was happening when she felt the katana being pulled from her grasp.

Bobbery now held the sword. He charged at DK, jumped high into the air, and brought the sharp edge down DK's spine.

The great ape howled in pain and fell over. He lay motionless as blood poured out of his back.

Bobbery was panting. He dropped the sword and it clattered to the floor.

When he had caught his breath, he glanced around. "What the hell happened here!?"

Jojora rushed forward and grabbed the scythe from a very frightened and tired Ms. Mowz. She gratefully accepted the help, and collapsed on the couch. However, she was in no position to explain all of the events that had occurred.

Soon after, Tiny entered the room as well, Koops being supported by her.

7Z7Z7Z7

It took several minutes for the group to calm Goombella down and guide her to the bathroom, where she was finally able to clean herself off.

As Bobbery and Tiny helped Goombella, Ms. Mowz pulled Koops into the kitchen with her, and, making sure that they were out of Jojora's earshot, whispered to him.

"Koops, there's something I need to share with you. But you have to promise me that you won't tell the others."

"What? Why?"

"Just promise me!"

"Um, okay, I promise, but wh-"

Ms. Mowz showed him the recordings she had found. "I found these down in some storage area in the basement. I think they were left here by previous victims."

Koops wondered if the storage room she was speaking of was the room that he and Jojora had passed through, but Ms. Mowz had started one of the recordings, and he listened intently.

Instantly, he felt a small twinge of recognition. He had heard Kori's voice somewhere before, but he just couldn't remember where. He felt the same with James and Toad as well, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"I've heard their voices before." Koops said after Ms. Mowz had finished with both of the tapes. "I can't remember where, exactly, but they sound familiar."

"You have? Then maybe this is important after all." She tapped her chin with one of the recorder's corners thoughtfully. "Perhaps if we can find more of these recordings, than we might be able to find out how to escape this place."

Koops nodded. "Maybe there are more in the basement. We should look there."

Before either of them could move, however, Bobbery, Tiny, and Goombella returned from the bathroom. Ms. Mowz quickly hid the tapes as they sat Goombella in an old armchair.

"Oh god, I can't believe it..." Goombella sobbed, trying not to stare at the bloody carcasses still lying on the floor. "They're really dead. And DK...I can't believe it...he was only trying to help us...and Roy..."

"Wait, Roy? What happened to Roy?" Tiny asked.

Bobbery nodded, just now realizing that he was missing. "Good question. How did this all happen, anyways?"

Ms. Mowz explained what had occurred since their group had left. She told them about their journey in the basement and the storage room, how she had returned to find everything the same, and how Mischief had shown up and ruined everything. However, she left out the part where she found the tapes.

Goombella sniffed sadly, her eyes puffy and red. "Toadette said that Roy got dragged away down there. He's probably dead now."

As if on cue, memories of DK and Toadette flashed through everyone's minds.

Koops shut his eyes as tightly as he could, as if it would help dispel the inappropriately cheerful memories that washed through his brain. With the two dead right beside him, he wanted nothing more than to think about something else, anything to take his mind off of his now dead friends.

"So," he started, still trying to erase the images from his head. "What do we do next?"

"I say we review." Jojora suggested, turning to Bobbery with a suspicious look on her face. "Let's start with you, old man. Those were some impressive moves for someone your age. Hell, those were impressive moves for someone of ANY age! I doubt that any of us younger folk could have brought that big ape down in one clean slice like you did!"

The old Bob-omb narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying?"

"Me? Oh, I'm not saying anything. I just think that maybe someone here isn't who they say they are..."

"Are you accusing me of working with the Reaper?!"

"Well, 'accuse' is such a strong word. I believe I'm only 'implying' that you're working with him. How else could you be that strong and agile? Maybe some other force is helping you..."

Bobbery was about to retort, but Tiny jumped into the arguemet. "Well, as long as we're pointing fingers here, I think that Jojora is pretty suspicious herself. How did she know that the key was in some random jar of eyes sitting on a shelf?"

Those who had attended Loopy's tea party nodded in understanding.

Jojora sighed and tried to defend herself. "I saw the glint of something gold in there and thought it was the key. I admit, it was a bit farfetched, but I did save all of your asses, didn't I? I think that deserves some thanks."

"Well what about the time I knew which statue was the correct one? We would have failed that challenge if it wasn't for me. I think that negates any suspicions about me helping that villain." Bobbery growled at the blue fairy.

"A mole has to benefit the group sometimes in order to seem less suspicious. That's what you're doing."

"What about Roy?" Goombella suggested. "He's acted pretty suspicious too, and there's also the fact that we haven't remem-"

"Oh, can it, you stupid Goomba! If there's anyone we should really be suspicious of, it's you!" Jojora snarled.

"Wha-ME!?"

"You've been useless this whole time! I can't believe that no one's suspected you yet!"

"Hey, don't start with her! She's been more useful than you!"

"Well maybe it was Toadette? Perhaps she was-"

"She's dead! I doubt the Reaper would let his little helper die!"

"DK might have-"

"DK's dead too!"

"Everyone stop yelling!"

"Jojora is a lying little bi-"

"I have half a mind to drop this scythe right now-"

"Fighting is only going to make things worse-"

The roars of arguing voices were instantly silenced as the door burst open and slammed into the wall, sending bits of chipped paint flying off of it.

In the doorway stood Roy. He was bruised and bloodied with many cuts all over his body. One of the lenses on his sunglasses was cracked. A sharp bone was clutched in his fist, a line of blood trickling down its side and steadily dripping to the floor. He was pale and shaking, panting heavily as he leaned on the wall.

He gazed at his stupefied comrades. They were clearly too stunned to speak.

"You would not BELIEVE...the SHIT...I went through to get here..."

7Z7Z7Z7

Once they had all recovered from their initial shock, they assaulted Roy with a flurry of questions.

"Roy? Is it really you?"

"What happened to you?"

"How did you escape?"

"Toadette said-"

"OOOOH! TOADETTE! Don't even get me STARTED on that bitch!"

They were all taken aback by his loud statement.

Ms. Mowz hesitantly questioned, "Wh...what do you mean?"

"That lying piece of shit...I bet she told you how I got dragged away and how she tried to help, right? How she couldn't save me, right? Well, that's a filthy LIE!"

He slammed the sharp end of the bone into the wall, and it stuck there, the end vibrating from the impact.

His wild eye behind the broken lens swiveled around, analyzing the faces of his terrified allies.

He exhaled heavily and stumbled to the kitchen, one hand over his forehead. "Ah, goddammit, I need a drink..."

After he had downed four cans of soda, let out a mighty burp, and turned back to his friends, now much more calm, he explained what had happened.

"Wow, she really did that?" Tiny asked, dumbfounded. She glanced at the torn body on the ground, then quickly looked away.

"What a bitch. Glad she's dead..." Jojora muttered.

"She did a terrible thing, but that doesn't make it right to be happy about her death." Bobbery said sternly.

"Keep your lectures about morals to yourself, old man."

"You'd better watch yourself, Jojora. Disrespect the dead, and it might just come back to bite you later."

Jojora snorted, but said nothing more.

Another figure walked into the room, clapping slowly.

Everyone glared at the Reaper as he sauntered to the middle of the room. They may have all had suspicions of one another, but they all shared one common enemy. The Reaper.

As he passed by Ms. Mowz, she was caught off guard by a faint, but familiar, smell. She would have missed it if it wasn't for her highly sensitive nose. Was it...strawberry shampoo?

"Well done." he congratulated, gesturing to the two bodies on the ground. "You've successfully killed two more of your friends. Will the entertainment never cease?"

"We didn't kill them. You did! Why can't you just let us go?" Goombella partly pleaded at the last part.

"Because, it's just too dang fun torturing you all! Plus, I have my own reasons..."

This piqued Tiny's interest. "And what are those reasons?"

The Reaper turned and made his way back to the door. "You'll see. I mean, those of you who SURVIVE will."

When he reached the door, he turned back, one finger in the air as if he had just remembered something. "Ah, that's right! You guys can stop the whole scythe thing, now. It's lost its charm and has become frightfully boring. Plus, you'll all have to work together in order to take on the tougher challenges that await you."

He snapped his fingers and the scythe and heart disappeared without a trace. Then the Reaper did as well, leaving seven confused mortals behind.

Bobbery broke the silence. "All right. From what the Reaped just said, it means we need to work together. That means staying together, and trusting one another. We can't be efficient if we all are suspicious of each other."

Tiny nodded. "We all know now what happened with Toadette. Her's was a radical case, but that doesn't mean that the same thing can't happen again."

"Agreed." Koops chimed in. He stretched his hand out, palm down. "Let's form a pact. From here on, we trust each other, help each other, and don't leave anyone behind."

Bobbery and Tiny joined him first, with Goombella and Ms. Mowz soon following. With a sigh, Jojora and Roy finally put their hands in as well.

"Good." the Koopa nodded. "So what happens now?"

"We use the key that Jojora found to open the next door." Goombella said. "It seems like there's a pattern happening here. We go into a room, beat the trial that awaits us, collect a key, and move onto the next one. Simple, but difficult. I doubt the Reaper has anything easy in store for us."

"Right." Ms. Mowz agreed. "So we'll all tackle this next one. Together."

The others nodded, and they filed out of the room, anxiety creeping up on all of them.

_'Ooh, together!'_ the Reaper's voice echoed with a mocking tone to it. _'We'll see how long that lasts...'_

**I felt like this chapter was a bit short, but I put everything I wanted into it.**

**So, Roy's not dead! I'm sure some of you will be happy about it, and others won't.**

**Lucky for some of you. Ms. Mowz was actually supposed to die instead of Toadette, but I changed it since A) You guys seemed to like Mowz more and B) I was starting to hate Toadette myself. She changed drastically as compared to my original idea for her, but whatever. Still, that doesn't mean Mowz is exempted from death! She could die later…**

**DK was always meant to die there, so R.I.P. DK.**

**Anyways, just wanted to say thanks to all of you who are actually reading this fic. It seems like it's become my most popular one yet. I find it hard to believe because, honestly, I didn't think it was that good. Nevertheless, I appreciate all of the favorites, follows, and reviews, so, thank you.**

**Anyways, this has dragged on long enough. I'll just end it here.**


	8. Chapter 8

**House of the Reaper**

"Looks like this is the door. Come on."

The group followed Bobbery's instructions and filed through the doorway of one of the doors in the upstairs hallway after they had unlocked it with the key.

Once they all had entered the next room, the door slammed shut behind them.

They were in a dark room, torches on the wall providing the only light. There wasn't much to the room itself, but the items scattered around the floor were a bit unsettling.

Dolls. Dolls lay everywhere. Wherever they stepped, a doll would be underneath their feet. They all looked the same, too. A faded brown, like a burlap sack, with a stitched grin, black button eyes, tiny arms and legs, and two little horns protruding from the side of their heads.

"Okay, this is creepy..." Goombella muttered.

Roy pointed to the other side of the room. "I think there's a door over there. Let's just go and get out of here."

The others nodded, but felt a strange nausea wash over them. They felt a bit sleepy, and the feeling intensified. A weird scent invaded their nostrils. It seemed to be connected with the sensation that had overwhelmed them.

"G...gas..." Jojora choked out before falling to the ground, unconscious.

Tiny watched as her friends fell one by one. She struggled to keep her eyelids open, and they grew heavier with each second. She fell to her knees, watching as a short figure walked out of the darkness, a strange, black mask over his face.

She barely had enough time to register that it was a gas mask before she fell victim to the gas as well. Darkness flooded her vision, and she joined her friends on the floor.

7Z7Z7Z7

Tiny slowly opened her eyes.

Immediately, she could tell that things were not right.

She was chained to a wall, medieval dungeon style, her friends hanging next to her. The room was even darker, with only one torch blazing on the wall in front of her.

Steadily, her allies began recovering as well, looking around slowly and drowsily, coming to the realization that they were in danger.

Only Roy seemed to have the same energy and vigor that he had had before, struggling against the chains that bound him to the wall and screaming for whoever had chained him to let him go.

A figure stepped into the small circle of light created by the single torch, the same figure that Tiny had seen earlier.

He was short and had rainbow hair that stuck up. He looked a bit like Roy, being a Koopaling as well. Tiny couldn't see his face, for it was still concealed by the gas mask.

"Hey, folks, how're ya doin'!?" a childlike voice came from the figure, slightly muffled due to the mask. "You wanna play a game?"

"Goddamn these crazy bastards..." Jojora whispered. "Why the hell are there so many insane people here!?"

"Calm down, Jojora. There's gotta be a way outta this." Bobbery assured her.

"You guys are the Reaper's next test subjects, right?" the Koopaling asked. "Well, you're a bit early, but I got everything prepared early too, so no worries! We can still play."

"No, we don't want to play any of your stupid torture games! Now let us go!" Roy shouted and tugged at the chains with all his might.

The Koopaling turned his head toward Roy and stared at him for a while. Tiny couldn't tell what he was thinking behind that cold, dark mask.

"Ah! Roy! You made it after all! I'll have to thank the Reaper for fulfilling my request!" the figure said cheerily and ran up to him. "You said you would never follow her. You said that you didn't trust the Reaper. But you see now, don't you? You should have come with me when she took us in."

Tiny wasn't sure whether he meant the Reaper or someone else when he said 'she', but she was even more puzzled as to how the kid knew Roy.

"You...you know him?" she was finally able to say. She was shocked at the sound of her own voice. It sounded like a croak and was raspy. She had probably inhaled too much gas.

"Yeah, he's my brother!" the child said, as if it were obvious. "But he's not a very good brother. When we escaped the castle, he said to forget about our other brothers, that they couldn't be saved, that we couldn't go back for them. He said 'it's just the two of us now!'. Not very brotherly, huh?"

Tiny glanced at Roy, and she noticed that his head was hanging low and that he was unusually silent. She could see his eyes behind his glasses from the side, and she could see the pained look in his eyes. All of Roy's memories about what the kid was saying should have been erased, if they were even true to begin with. But did Roy know more than he was letting on? Had he somehow regained some memories?

"That's why I'm gonna go extra hard on you." the child said slowly. "You'll probably be the first to die!"

"Who are you?" Roy asked quietly.

"You don't remember your own brother!?" the child said in mock surprise. "Well, I guess that should be expected. The Reaper did say that she'd take all of your personal memories."

Tiny was sure that she had heard him say 'she', but he was still talking.

"Not that I really care if you remember me, anyways. I hated you ever since we left the castle. But that doesn't matter now, because now I can make you feel the pain that Iggy and Ludwig must have felt when we abandoned them! I need to remember to thank the Reaper later for this wonderful opportunity. As for my name, you can just call me Lemmy."

The name sounded familiar, but, of course, Tiny couldn't remember where she had heard it.

"Now, how about we get to the rules of the game, huh?"

"I'll release one of you guys, but don't think that means that you can just go through the door and escape. First off, it'll be locked, and second, your other friends will be tied up, so you'd be abandoning them.

You'll have to rip open the dolls you see here and try to find the keys that some of them have. If you get a key, then you can use it to free one of you friends! Find all of the keys, free all of your friends, and you win!"

"But, there's a catch. I'll keep filling the room with poisonous gas, so you'll steadily be inhaling that as well! If everyone who's free dies, than I win and get to kill whoever's left! That is, if there is any!"

Tiny hated the sound of this game. It sounded terrifying and impossible. There had to be hundreds of dolls, and if there was one key for each of them, that meant that there were only seven keys.

"Get it? Got it? Good! So let's start!" Lemmy paced in front of all of them, trying to decide who to free. "Hmm...I think I'll go with..." He stopped when he reached Tiny. "You! You can start off."

Lemmy ran away into the darkness. His voice echoed around them after a moment. "Ready? Set? Go!"

The chains binding Tiny to the wall released her, and she wasted no time bolting towards the nearest doll.

Hastily, she ripped it's head off and stuffed her hand into it. Nothing but stuffing was inside.

She heard a hissing noise. She quickly assumed that it was the poison being released into the room. She took a deep breath and ran to the next doll. Bobbery shouted after her.

"Don't run! It'll only make you breath more! You want to inhale as little as possible!"

She nodded at his advice, noting that talking would be a bad idea as well. She slowed down, but still picked up the doll she had been targeting and decapitated it as quickly as possible.

She stumbled back and gasped, dropping the doll as a giggling Jack-in-the-box leaped out of its neck.

She immediately began hacking, choking on the gas in the air.

She put her hand over her mouth and tried to take another deep breath.

_'Dammit.'_ she thought._ 'That really surprised me and made me inhale too much gas. I need to be more careful.'_

She ran to other dolls, ripping off their heads, one after another. The first three contained nothing and the last one had another surprise, causing her to inhale more gas, but less than the first time.

However, she was able to find a key in the next doll that she ripped open.

"I got one!" she called out before realizing what a bad idea it was.

She ran to her friends chained to the wall. She reached Ms. Mowz first and unlocked the chains on her.

As the two were speed walking back to the dolls, she glanced at the others. Jojora and Roy were scowling, as if they had wanted Tiny to free them first. Bobbery, Koops, and Goombella had pained expressions on their faces. She doubted that they could hold on for too much longer.

Ms. Mowz and Tiny split up, dividing the dolls as best as they could.

A strange, yellowish fog was settling over the ground in the room and impairing their vision. Tiny began to feel her skin tingle and sting. Lemmy must have started spraying some kind of gas other than the original one, and whatever it was, it was about ten times worse.

She hurriedly went back to searching for a key, trying to ignore the burning sensations she felt. When she felt like her lungs were about to burst, she hesitantly took another breath from behind her hand. It didn't provide much protection, but it helped to block out most of the gas.

She felt something bump her shoulder and she looked up to see Bobbery helping as well. Ms. Mowz must have found a key.

On a stroke of pure luck (or possibly some sort of foul play), Bobbery found a key in the first doll he tore into. Tiny was dumbfounded, but he wasted no time in returning to his friends and releasing Koops.

Tiny shook her head. It probably was just luck. She couldn't worry about it now. She opened another doll and found a key inside.

After returning to her friends, she looked between them. Only Goombella, Jojora, and Roy were left. She hated to admit it, but she thought that releasing Jojora was the right choice. Goombella looked faint. She probably wouldn't get too far without passing out. Roy was still struggling, cursing despite the gas. Tiny suspected that if she were to free him, he would focus only on finding Lemmy. For a brief moment, she thought it wouldn't be a bad idea, but quickly dismissed it. Lemmy was probably hidden safe and deep within the smog. If they even found him, she doubted that they would be able to bring him down.

She glanced at Jojora, her eyes closed, but calm despite the circumstances. She appeared to be conserving her air. If Tiny couldn't see her stomach slowly and barely rising and falling, she would assume that she was dead. Tiny remembered all of the suspicious things that she had associated with Jojora. If she really was the Reaper's cohort, she could easily escape in the fog and find a safe place until the others die. If they didn't, she could always use the excuse that nobody saw her because of the gas, but that she really was helping.

Tiny decided to take a chance, cursing herself for being so trusting. Jojora opened her eyes at the sound of the key sliding into the lock. Once the chains were off, she smirked at Tiny and made her way to two dolls that were right beside each other, almost touching hands. She tossed one to Tiny and began ripping open the other herself. Tiny followed her lead and was surprised to find a key inside. She looked at Jojora, who had one as well. She unlocked Roy, smirking all the while, and Tiny unlocked Goombella.

Once they were free, the gas started being sucked out of the room, the yellowish smoke fading ever so slowly.

Tiny risked a breath, and found that the air was much more breathable now. She tried her best to relax, but was now even more suspicious of Jojora. There was no way she could have known that those dolls had keys. There was just no way.

The others were making their way back to them, relief on their faces. Tiny was about to question Jojora, but was interrupted by Lemmy's voice.

"Aw man! You really beat my game! That's not cool!"

He had appeared by them again, his arms crossed in a pouting manner. Now that Roy was unchained, he lunged at his 'brother'. Bobbery and Koops were barely able to restrain him at the last second.

"After everything I did for you, you ungrateful little bastard! You know I easily could have left you behind, too!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Roy, but now's not the time for that!" Bobbery yelled, a surge of energy allowing him to pin Roy to the floor. He turned to Lemmy. "Now it's time for you to do as you promised. Let us go."

"Nah, I don't think so. Roy really hurt my feelings with that last comment, so I think we'll have to play another game to cheer me up." he said nonchalantly.

"What!?" Goombella shrieked. "No! We played your game already, so let us go!"

"Nah, but this one's easier. But I will need time to set up, sooooooo..."

In a flash, he aimed the end of his hose at the group and sprayed them with a cloud of gas. Instantly, Tiny felt drowsy and dropped to her knees. The others fell as well, soon unconscious. Tiny could barely keep her eyes open. She tried to stand and attack Lemmy, but it was far out of her control. She fell forward, her head hitting the cold stone floor. Roy entered her vision. He staggered toward Lemmy and put his hands on his shoulders. For a moment, Tiny swore that she could see Lemmy's eyes behind the mask. They were wide and were welling up with tears. The two brothers stared at each other for a moment. Roy moved his mouth, but his words were inaudible to Tiny. She watched as his legs gave out and he fell to the ground, unconscious with the rest.

Finally, unable to resist any longer, she succumbed as well, giving into the darkness embracing her.

7Z7Z7Z7

When she awoke, she and her friends were chained to the wall once more.

"Good! Everyone's awake!" Lemmy cheered.

Tiny clenched her hands into fists. Lemmy was forcing them to play ANOTHER game!? That lying little...

"This one's easy." he assured them. "All you have to do is point at a doll here and guess which you think has my precious Master Key that the Reaper gave to me! You only get one try, though. Guess correctly, and I'll let you all go."

_'That's what you said last time.'_ she thought. She didn't have enough energy left to even speak up. She chuckled inwardly, though. It sounded like something Roy would say.

Roy.

She glanced over to where he was before, surprised that he hadn't started yelling yet. However, she only found some chains hanging there, attached to nobody.

Koops saw this too. "Wh...where's Roy?"

"Oh, him? I tied him up somewhere else. He...well, I think that I might be able to make up with him, so...after I kill you all, I'll go talk to him..." Lemmy said quietly. Then he returned to his cheerfully sadistic self. "Anyways, you guys ready to play?"

A light appeared beside Lemmy, illuminating a table with three dolls on it.

"Let the game begin!"

Tiny was confused as to Lemmy's actions. Sparing Roy when he had been so angry with him earlier? Could it be that Roy had asked him to do this before he passed out?

She shook her head. She could think about that after the game.

She thought hard. One of those three dolls had the key in it. She had a one in three chance of guessing correctly. It seemed easy, but they had only one guess. If she screwed up, she would surely get them all killed.

She glanced at the others. They were all thinking equally hard.

Jojora, however, looked extremely confident. Without batting an eyelash, she pointed at Lemmy and said, "The one under your shell, right?"

Everyone was shocked, including Lemmy. He slowly withdrew a doll from his shell and held it tightly, his tiny claws piercing the exterior. He growled in a hate filled voice, "How did you know?"

"You said, 'my precious' when you referred to the key. I could tell that it did mean a lot to you, so you would want to keep it safe, right? What better place than that shell of yours?"

Tiny and the others were dumbfounded, and many a jaw was dropped. It had been impossible to guess if they had only payed attention to the dolls provided to them. There was absolutely no way that Jojora could have known.

_'There is something off about her.'_ Tiny thought, narrowing her eyes. _'VERY off...'_

Lemmy growled and threw the doll on the ground. "NO! I HATE losing!"

"Too bad!" the fairy scowled. "We won your game, now let us go!"

"NO! I ALWAYS WIN! YOU GUYS LOSE! YOU ALL LOSE!"

He ripped the doll open and plucked the key out of it. He unlocked Goombella from the chains and threw her to the ground with surprising strength. She yelped as her head hit the floor and he dragged her towards the table. He hauled her over his shoulder and dropped her on the table. She was unconscious, but Tiny doubted that she would have been to weak to fight back anyways.

"Now you will DIE!" Lemmy screamed and pointed his hose at Goombella's face. He unleashed the gas in his tank on his back and they were all powerless to stop him.

"STOP!" Koops yelled, his eyes wide in panic. "PLEASE, STOP!"

Lemmy ignored him, only stopping when he was sure that Goombella was dead.

He put his ear to her chest, and Tiny was sure he was grinning behind his gas mask.

Memories of Goombella swam in her mind's eye, confirming her death. Tiny shut her eyes tightly, but that didn't stop the tears from spilling out.

Tiny was filled with anger, fear, and sadness. She hadn't wanted anyone to die, and for Goombella to be killed in front of them all, and they could do nothing but watch...it was just too much.

She was sure that Lemmy was walking towards her, preparing to kill her as well, but she didn't open her eyes or try to stop him. She felt herself, fall and be dragged away, but still she didn't resist. She did nothing as he lifted her onto the table as well. She didn't say anything or open her eyes as she heard her friends screaming her name.

She had given up. Even if she could get away, there was nothing she could do for her friends. The Reaper's house had finally gotten to her. She accepted defeat.

That was, until, she heard Lemmy roar in pain.

She opened her eyes to see Roy standing before her, holding Jojora's katana. The sharp end was embedded in Lemmy's chest.

Lemmy staggered backwards, the sword still impaled in him. He fell on his back, moaning in pain.

Roy turned to her, his eyes full of the most immense sadness she had ever seen. She wasn't sure how, but Roy must have recognized Lemmy as his brother.

"You okay?" he said, extending a hand out to help her up. She accepted, too stunned to even utter a word.

Once she was back on her feet, Roy took the key from Lemmy and freed his friends.

"Ugh...R-Roy..."

They turned to Lemmy, who was bleeding out slowly on the floor. Roy kneeled down to face him and spoke softly.

"Yeah, little bro?"

"I...never said...thanks...for s-saving m-me..." Lemmy's voice was strained and soft. Tiny could tell that he was trying his best to hang on so he could talk to his brother.

"It's fine, Lemmy. I just...wish it hadn't come to this..." Roy said. He embraced Lemmy, his eyes shut tight.

Lemmy sniffed and pulled away. He took the gas mask off of his face and handed it to Roy. For the first time, they were able to see his face. Tears were flowing from his eyes, but there was a smile on his face.

"H-here...you're gonna n-need this..."

Roy took the mask, slightly confused.

Then Lemmy took the sword from his chest and stabbed the gas tank. There was a hissing sound as the gas flowed out, filling the room again.

Roy quickly put the mask on and told his friends to run. They did as he told them, following him as he led the way (Koops hanging onto him for support due to his bad leg).

Lemmy watched them go and fade into the darkness as the yellow fog settled around him. He breathed it in willingly, already knowing his fate with or without the gas.

"Bye...Roy..." Lemmy said before closing his eyes for the final time.

7Z7Z7Z7

When the party reached the door that Roy had led them to, he unlocked it and they filed into the next room.

Momentarily safe, they collapsed to the floor, exhausted.

Finally, Bobbery broke the silence. "I can't believe we lost Goombella back there..."

Koops shook his head and looked at Roy. "How did you even find us and get your hands on that sword?"

"I'm more curious as to how Jojora seemed to know where all of the keys were, for both the first and second challenge." Tiny said.

Jojora glared at her, but Bobbery intervened. "Hey, no arguments, now. Let's just go over what happened before so there are no suspicions. Jojora, would you like to start?"

"Fine." she scoffed. "As for the first game, I knew those two keys were there because the dolls were slightly bulging. Also, I found the position they were in a bit odd, how they were almost holding hands. I figured that Lemmy had put them that way. I thought about the relationship between Roy and Lemmy, and figured that Lemmy had probably mirrored their relationship through the dolls. On the inside, Lemmy had wanted to trust and be with his brother, but whatever had happened between them had sort of ruined that, creating a small gap between them."

Roy removed the mask and tossed it aside. He looked to the floor sadly at Jojora's explanation, but she continued.

"As for the second game, I stand by what I said to that bastard."

"How could you have possibly known all of that?" Tiny doubted.

Jojora shrugged smugly. "What can I say? I know people." Tiny wasn't amused, so Jojora sighed. "Fine. That way of thinking felt familiar, though. Probably something from my past? I don't know, I must have been a detective or cop or something."

"Damn good one if you could figure all of that out." Bobbery whistled, impressed. "Now, onto Roy. What happened to you while we were out?"

Roy rubbed his temples. "I don't know. I woke up in a dark room. I could hear Lemmy talking, so I knew I wasn't far from you guys. He must have taken Jojora's ninja sword, 'cuz I found it nearby. I can't believe he just left it there. Unless, he wanted me to escape..." Roy muttered the last part to himself. Realizing that he had trailed off, Roy hastily continued. "Oh, uh, a-anyways, I cut the ropes he tied me with and made my way over to you guys. Then..." No further explanation was needed.

"I see..." Bobbery said. However, Tiny was clenching her fists, furious.

"If you had only been there sooner, Goombella wouldn't have died!"

Everyone was shocked. Bobbery tried to calm her down. "Tiny, it's not his fault. He did save us-"

"I DON'T CARE! He didn't save Goombella! He didn't save ALL of us! I hope he dies and sees what it's like himself!"

Tiny glared at Roy. Surprisingly, he was staring at the floor, calmly and sadly.

Why wasn't he yelling? Tiny found herself wanting him to yell at her. She wanted someone to yell at her, to return the anger she was feeling instead everyone of just sulking in a depressed state.

Who was she angry at? She knew it wasn't really Roy. It wasn't the others. It wasn't even Lemmy or the Reaper. Who was she angry at?

"I'm sorry..." Roy said almost inaudibly.

Tiny realized that the way his lips had moved formed the same words that he had said to Lemmy before they had passed out.

Then, she realized who she was angry at, who she felt was really responsible for Goombella's death, for every death so far.

Herself.

Tiny burst into tears and keeled over, the others avoiding looking at her or each other.


	9. Chapter 9

**House of the Reaper**

After things had calmed down enough, the group made their way down the hall they had found themselves in. Nobody spoke.

Eventually, they came across another door and pushed it open.

They found themselves in a big room. The floors, walls, and ceiling were a grayish white and had teal lines running through them, each glowing every so often like some sort of futuristic technology. The room was separated into two halves by a huge glass wall. A door, very similar in appearance to the walls and floor, was located in the small corner of the glass wall, right next to the wall with the door they had just entered from. Both halves of the room were empty and flat, with nothing to suggest that a puzzle was to be completed.

"Hey, what's that?" Roy pointed to something in the corner of the half that they were currently in. He ran towards it, ignoring some of his friends who tried to warn him to stop.

It was a treasure chest, identical to the ones that one would find when thinking about anything pirate related.

"'Warning! Do not open under any circumstance. Penalty is severe'." Roy read the red words on the box's lid. "Damn. I bet there's something good in there, too."

"Forget it, Roy." Bobbery said, trying to bring him away from the chest. "If it says we can't open it, we can't open it. Now leave that alone before something bad happens."

Roy shrugged and returned to his allies, who were currently conversing, trying to find a way to advance.

"I don't see any other way out." Tiny stated. "But there has to be a way to advance, right? The Reaper wouldn't just leave us trapped here."

"Can't be too sure with that guy." Jojora said. "He's always pulling tricks. I wouldn't be surprised if he came out and told us that he had just decided to kill us because we had become boring to him or something."

"Hey, don't give him any ideas..."

"I say we look on that side." Ms. Mowz pointed to the other half of the room. "There might be a way out over there."

As the others nodded and walked through the door (which slid open automatically when they approached it), Koops stared into space, wondering about the voices on the recordings. He knew he had heard them before, but he just couldn't remember where.

That was something that had truly been bugging him lately. His amnesia. How he couldn't remember any personal memories or any events that had taken place before ending up in this dreadful place. It was bad enough that the Reaper had put him through this hell, but taking his memories as well?

_'Ah, ah, ah! I do give you some memories back, don't I?' _the Reaper's voice echoed in his mind._ 'Like with Yoshi, DK, and Goombella.'_

_'That's different.'_ he thought sourly. _'You only give them back once they're dead. You only do that to torture us.'_

_'True. But I still give them back. I still let you remember who they are.'_

_'Who they WERE. You put us in this stupid game and destroyed our lives! You caused our friends to die!'_

_'Perhaps if you make it out of here, you can have that life back...'_

_'That's impossible. Things can never go back to normal now...'_

_'Yes, they can. All you need to do is kill your friends.'_

_'What!?'_

_'Let's make a deal. You kill all of your friends, and I'll grant your instant freedom.'_

_'No way! I can't do that!'_

_'It's easy. Here, I'll even provide you with the perfect opportunity...'_

"SHUT UP!"

Koops slammed his fist into the wall. He wasn't sure how, but the Reaper's presence seemed to have left his mind.

He sighed and slid down the wall to his back, his hands in his palms. He knew he wouldn't betray his friends for his own benefit. They had agreed to all stay together, no matter what. Nothing the Reaper could do could change that now.

He got up and went to the door in order to follow his friends. However, the door did not open when he approached it. He pushed on it and tried to separate the two halves, but nothing worked. The door wouldn't budge.

He heard a banging sound on the glass nearby and ran to see what it was.

On the other side of the glass, Roy was banging on the glass, panic on his face. The others were running around in disorder, hitting every wall, most likely trying to find a way out.

Koops couldn't tell what was wrong at first, but he noticed when he looked at the floor. Water was already up to the Koopaling's knees and was steadily rising.

The room was flooding.

Panicked, Koops tried to bash the glass as well. Nothing happened. It didn't even crack. He ran back to the door and tried to open it, but, again, it didn't budge.

Koops checked the other room again. The water was already up to Roy's neck. It seemed to be flooding faster.

Koops looked around at the room he was in. There was nothing he could use to help. Except...

Koops ran to the chest and read the label once more. He was about to open it, but hesitated. No, there had to be a different way.

Koops looked back at the other room. Now they were all completely submerged. Koops ducked into his shell and flung himself at the glass. Nothing. He tried again and again, but to no avail.

He looked back at the other room. Bobbery was either unconscious, or...

_'Let them die.'_ the Reaper spoke in his mind again. _'I'll let you escape.'_

"No!" Koops shouted. Without thinking, he ran back to the chest and flung it open. The only thing inside was something that looked like a plastic credit card.

Koops plucked it out of the chest and ran back to the door. He slid it through a small crack beside the door. Instantly, the two halves of the door parted and water rushed out, carrying Koops with it.

When he got up, the floor of the room was covered in water. His friends were coughing and picking themselves up off the floor, shaking water off of them.

Tiny ran to Bobbery who was lying still on the floor. She put her ear to his chest and sighed in relief. "It's okay. He's just unconscious."

Jojora kneeled beside the Bob-omb and started performing CPR, forcing the water in Bobbery out of him.

Roy, who was closest to the Koopa, approached Koops, panting. "Hey...thanks man..."

Koops nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Hey," Ms. Mowz panted. "How did you get that door open anyways? Nothing we did worked."

Koops scratched his head, not wanting to tell them about opening the chest. He didn't have to.

"Koops, what did you do?" Tiny shrieked. She ran to the chest, pointing at the open lid.

"I...there was...nothing else I could do..."

"You idiot!" Roy yelled. "That thing specifically said NOT to open it! Did you ever think of just tossing the chest at the glass to break it!?"

"N-no...I..."

As Koops struggled to answer, he spotted the Reaper entering the room from the door they had first come in from.

"Well done, Koops." he said. "I was sure that you were going to leave your friends to die so that you could escape, but you sure surprised me! However, you did break the rules, and now, a price must be paid."

There was a blinding flash and they all covered their eyes. When the light faded, they opened their eyes to find themselves in a new room.

It looked exactly like the room that they had their first challenge in, the challenge where they had to find which statue was fake. However, there were no statues, only the giant golden scale that they had used earlier.

"Now then," the Reaper said, a scythe appearing in one hand, his other hand gesturing to the scale. "Who wants to sacrifice themselves so that the others may continue?"

Everyone was thrown off by this, and nobody made a sound.

Finally, Tiny spoke. "Y...you're asking us to...pick one of us to die...?"

"Precisely." the Reaper said in an obvious manner. "Koops just made a grave mistake, and now one of you has to pay the price."

The five players all exchanged glances. None of them wanted to take one for the team.

"Of course, I won't accept Bobbery." the Reaper said. "He's unconscious and probably won't wake up for a while now. Wouldn't be fair for you all to decide his fate for him, now would it?"

Nobody said anything, but Koops felt like he knew what they were all thinking, and he sort of agreed with them. He should do it. He broke the rules, and he should pay the price.

Koops opened his mouth to speak, trying to muster all of the courage he had.

"I'll do it."

That voice wasn't his.

He looked over to Jojora, who was staring at the Reaper, her face entirely serious. "I'll sacrifice myself."

"J-Jojora, you can't!" Koops interjected. "I'm the one who caused this. I'll do it."

"No." she said firmly. She looked him in the eye, and he found that he couldn't meet her solemn gaze. "It's not just about this. I've done more wrong than you. You saved us. I...I couldn't save Yoshi...I failed, and because of that, I should pay the price...with my own life..."

"Jojora, that could have happened to anyone." Ms. Mowz reasoned. "There's no need to be so hasty. I think that...I should do it. I don't think there's a need for me to stick around any longer. So far, I don't think that I've been much of a help."

Jojora shook her head. "I won't let you, Mowz. I swear, none of you will stop me. Even if I have to beat you all unconscious, I won't let you sacrifice yourselves so that I can keep living."

Tiny stepped towards her. "Jojora, don't! I know that I haven't exactly trusted you all the time in the past, but...we need you! After everything you've done, I know that we can make it out of here with your help! Plus, I was actually...starting to...like you..." Her voice got progressively weaker as tears streamed down her face.

Jojora looked back at Tiny, a faint smile on her lips, but a sad stare in her eyes. "Then let me do this. Let me help you guys out, one last time."

Now Roy was approaching her, his face unreadable. "Jojora, if this is something that you're really gonna do, than there's one last thing that I need to do."

Jojora turned to him and was surprised when he took her face in his hands. He gently brought his face closer to hers, and she blushed slightly. She stared into Roy's eyes, and he stared back.

"R-Roy..."

Suddenly, Roy jerked his head back and smacked his forehead into Jojora's. She crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Roy turned to a shocked Tiny, Koops, and Mowz.

With a grave face and emotionless voice, he said, "Go. While she can't try to throw her life away, go. I'll do this."

Tiny stared at Roy in disbelief. "R...Roy...you can't..."

He turned to her and smiled faintly. "Sure I can. Hopefully, this'll make up for my previous mistake, right?"

Tiny knew that he was talking about how she had yelled at him earlier. "No...no, Roy! Forget about that! I...I didn't mean what I said back there! I don't want you to die...please, Roy..."

Roy turned away from her. "I'm sorry. But like Jojora said, I won't let any of you stop me from doing this."

Koops stepped towards him, but Roy spun around, throwing a punch that nearly hit the Koopa. Koops skipped back, shocked.

"I said go, didn't I! So go!" Roy yelled.

Ms. Mowz gently touched Koops' shoulder. She shook her head sadly and hauled the unconscious Jojora over her shoulder. Then she grabbed Tiny's arm and pulled her away. Tiny began struggling, but she couldn't break away from Mowz's grip.

"NO! ROY! DON'T DO IT! ROY...!" she screamed, but her cries faded as Ms. Mowz dragged her out of the room and down a long, dark hallway that had appeared.

Koops looked after them, then turned back to Roy.

He smiled at him and gestured for him to follow them. "Go ahead, man. I got this."

Koops nodded and grabbed Bobbery. He followed his friends down the hall without another word.

Roy sighed and withdrew a precious item from his shell, something he had been saving for a moment like this.

He took the single cigarette out of the box. "Man, I was hoping I would live long enough to enjoy this. I was saving it for when I got outta this hellhole, but this is as good a time as ever, right?"

He chuckled and paused, forgetting that he didn't have a lighter. Suddenly, a snapping noise was heard and the tip glowed. Roy looked up at the Reaper and nodded appreciatively.

"Why did you choose to do this?" the Reaper asked, genuinely curious. "You could have easily allowed Jojora to sacrifice herself. Why did you intervene?"

Roy inhaled some of the smoke and let it shoot out in a steady stream from his mouth, his eyes closed. "It wasn't just Jojora. If any one of them had tried to do it, I would have gotten in the way."

"But why? What is the purpose of sacrificing yourself for another's sake?"

"It's because they're my friends, and I want to protect them. There was no way I was gonna let one of those crazy bastards let themselves die for my sake. Would of made me a pretty bad friend, now wouldn't it?"

Roy chuckled slightly again, then looked back up at the Reaper seriously. "So, we gonna get this over with or what?"

The Reaper nodded and a heart appeared on the scale. Roy knew that it had to be his heart, and he closed his eyes, knowing what was about to happen.

However, he couldn't help but let out one last laugh.

"What's so funny?" the Reaper said, his scythe frozen in a raised position over his head.

"Nothin', nothin'. It's just that...even if I had the chance to go back and redo this same choice over and over again, I know that...I know that I wouldn't have it any other way..."

The Reaper nodded one last time to Roy. Over his course of time observing mortals, he had only grown to become more and more perplexed by their thoughts and actions.

The Reaper dismissed the thought and returned to the matter at hand. He brought the scythe down, the sharp tip aimed straight at the heart on the scale.

In a brief instant, all of Roy's memories returned. Roy wondered if this is what happened to all of the Reaper's victims just before they died, but it didn't matter to him now.

_'The past is the past.'_ he thought to himself_. 'Nothin' I can do to change that now.'_

The sound of metal piercing flesh echoed throughout the room as the scythe embedded itself in the heart, ending its rhythmic beating and Roy's life at the same time.

7Z7Z7Z7

Ms. Mowz, Koops, and Tiny continued down the hall in absolute silence. Tiny had stopped sobbing, and now only shook in extreme sadness and anger at the Reaper. Mowz and Koops were grave and their faces showed no emotion. They only carried their unconscious comrades down the long, seemingly endless hall.

A soft grunt and a serious of coughs broke the silence, signaling Bobbery's awakening.

"Gah...wh...what happened?" he asked.

Koops and Tiny looked away, so Ms. Mowz explained to him what had occurred, starting with the flood and ending with Roy's sacrifice.

"I can't believe it..." the Bob-omb muttered in complete disbelief. "It should have been me. I'm the oldest here. I probably won't live that long anyway. It should have been me..."

"Don't say that, Bobbery." Koops tried to reassure him. "We need you just as much as everyone else. Nobody is less important. Nobody was less important..."

His comment only seemed to drag their spirits down further.

There was a shuffling sound and they saw Jojora stand up straight, awake. There were tears flowing from her eyes, but they were burning in anger.

Her voice started as a murmur, but in the overwhelming silence, it was deafening.

"Goddammit, Roy...Why...?...GODDAMMIT!"

Everyone jumped as she slammed her fist into the wall.

They were even more surprised when they saw a rectangular portion of the wall fall forward like a piece of cardboard. It opened up another pathway, a hallway with a plaque above it reading, 'To the Reaper's room'."

"What the...?" Koops said, but was interrupted by the Reaper's voice.

"No! Don't go that way!"

"And why not?" Tiny questioned.

"That's the way to my room, obviously. Why do you think I had it concealed?"

Jojora turned to her friends, a blazing fury in her eyes. "I think we should go that way. No doubt the Reaper is there. Maybe we can end this once and for all."

"No way." Bobbery argued. "I think it's a trap. We should probably just keep going forward. The exit might be just ahead."

"I say we go with Jojora's plan." Tiny said. "If we can find the Reaper-if we can KILL him-I don't think we'll have to worry about all of this anymore. I'm sure we can escape immediately if he's dead."

"No, Bobbery's right." Ms. Mowz countered. "If we go that way, we risk running into a trap. If we play along, we won't have to worry about him punishing us."

"But you heard Lemmy earlier, right? He said we were the second group to play this stupid game. That means the Reaper is only going to keep kidnapping people and putting them through this hell. We can end this. We can make sure nobody else has to suffer what we went through."

"And what if we fail!? Then it won't matter anymore, will it? Going straight will ensure that we at least have a chance at surviving."

"Do you really want to keep living with the guilt that you allowed more people to die in this horrible place!? I say we kill the Reaper, or die trying!"

"All of you, silence!" the Reaper yelled. "Since you are all so intriguing to me, and since you've made it so far, I will allow you to choose which path you take. I assure you, that path leads straight to my chambers, there are no traps. Mowz and Bobbery seem to want to go straight. Tiny and Jojora want to branch off and come to me. But what does Koops want? He hasn't spoken yet."

The others turned to him, and he felt their eyes penetrate him, making him shrink as they unrelentingly stared at him. No one said anything, but he knew that each group was expecting him to vote for their idea. He was the tie-breaker.

He stood up straight and took a deep breath, prepared to give his answer.

**And here, dear readers, is where you come in. I had two endings that I had for this fic, but I couldn't decide on which I wanted. So, I'm leaving it up to you all to vote on!**

**Trust me, there are no traps or tricks if they follow the Reaper's trail, so it's not like they'll all die. They might even be able to find out some useful info, though, like what the reason is behind the game, who the Reaper is, and why he's doing this.**

**Or, they could go on normally and play by the Reaper's rules, hoping that they find an exit and escape the house.**

**Which path do you choose? Please vote in the reviews (since I'm too lazy to put up a poll).**

**[Go straight?] or [Hunt the Reaper?]**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Sorry for two things: the late upload and the cluttered spacing in this chapter. Microsoft Word was being a bitch, so I had to copy and paste this chapter in the original format from my iPod. Anyways, this is the last chapter, and, if anyone cares, I have a long author's note at the end regarding my plans for my next project that you guys can vote on. So, enjoy this chapter, and please vote for my next story afterwards!**

House of the Reaper

Koops looked at his friends firmly and said, "I say we take down the Reaper, once and for all."  
Jojora and Tiny smiled at him appreciatively. Mowz and Bobbery only shook their head, reluctantly complying.  
The group made their way down the hall, Bobbery saying, "Fine, but if we run into a trap and all die, I don't want to hear any of you complainin'."  
Nobody said anything as they walked down the new hall, this one much narrower than the previous one, forcing them to walk in a single file line.  
_'You know, even if you reach, you won't be able to kill me.'_ the Reaper's voice echoed in Koops' mind.  
The Koopa was slightly confused. Something sounded a bit different, a bit off, about his voice.  
_'We will reach you.'_ Koops thought confidently._ 'And we WILL kill you.'_  
_'Really, think about it, Koops. I made this topsy-turvy house. With everything you've seen in here, do you really think you can kill me?'_  
Koops was sure something sounded different. The Reaper sounded slightly more fearful and...feminine.  
_'Yes. You've caused us all of this trouble. You've killed our friends. You need to pay for your actions.'_  
_'Have you ever stopped to wonder why I've made this place? Why I put all of you through this?'_  
This actually did make Koops stop, causing Ms. Mowz to bump into him from behind.  
"Koops?" she asked, concerned. "Is something wrong?"  
_'If you reach my room, perhaps I'll tell you.'_  
Now Koops was more determined than ever to find out what was going on. He strode forward, a serious expression frozen on his face, his hands clenched into fists.

7Z7Z7Z7

They reached the Reaper's room quicker than they had anticipated.  
It was certainly more impressive and well kept than the other rooms they had come across.  
Red carpets covered the stone floor and tapestries adorned the walls. A soft, elegant bed was pushed against one wall, and paintings hung to the wall where the tapestries didn't.  
The others made their way around the room, checking out various things, mostly out of curiosity.  
Koops walked towards a small table with a mirror in front of it. He saw various perfumes and beauty creams, all of which he found odd and out of place. One wouldn't expect to find such things in the room of such a terrifying enemy.  
However, there was a leather brown book that piqued his interest. He opened it and turned to a page, reading its contents.  
'March 10th,  
11:42 PM  
I've just finished the preparations for Group B. I've decided to tweak a few things from the previous experiment. First, I decided to choose specifically who I wanted instead of leading a random group of people inside. I've also made the group considerably smaller, with only ten subjects as opposed to twenty. I decided to wipe their memories as well. According to my results from the previous party, they let their relationships with each other get in the way of their common goal. Therefore, in order to increase the chance of success, the members of this group have no recollection of each other, and therefore no reason to dislike or distrust anyone right off the bat besides a first impression.  
It's quite strange, actually. I had originally planned to put these subjects in the test first. I had already kidnapped them prior to Judgement Day, so they have no idea of the events afterwards, unlike the first group. But, I was a bit lazy and hadn't started the testing by the time Group A came around, so I never got the chance. But what was I supposed to do? Just leave some fresh specimens outside and risk losing them? No! Although I was rushed and had to make several adjustments (like implementing Wario into the group and providing false memories to the others about him being with them the entire time, in order to keep the genuine aspect to their experiment), proved to be worth it in the end. I'm sure that the remaining three who survived my trials from Group A are doing well now. They make me so proud.  
I've been very curious as to how a specific test subject of mine would do in the test. Koops. He's a strange case. He was from the original death game, the one I, for a brief period, participated in as well. I had to take measures to strip him of his powers. It wasn't too much of a hassle. I mean, I've already done it with Wario, Daisy, and a few others whose bodies I had decided to 'recycle' for the tests. Their powers were still with them, dead or alive, so I had to remove them in order to keep things fair for the 'normal' contestants. I wonder what will happen when Koops sees Yoshi, one of his victims from the original death game. I erased his memories, but some things cannot truly be forgotten, no matter how deeply you bury them. Koops intrigues me, however, because he nearly won the game. However, when he was betrayed...that's when things went bad for him. Luckily, I was able to abduct him before he died. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to at first, but the Fugitive DID say that I could use any dead contestants as players. Technically, when I took him, his heart had stopped, so I figured I was allowed to.  
Anyways, I'm eager to see how he'll handle this, if he'll survive. Personally, I hope so. After what happened to him...after what he did...I think he deserves a second chance."  
Koops had to pause. His head was spinning with too much information, too many unanswered questions. Group A? Group B? Original death game? Powers? So many things he didn't know.  
He was about to explain (to the best of his ability) what he had read to his allies, but was interrupted by a figure appearing in the middle of the room.  
The Reaper. The hooded figure addressed the five, who glared at him.  
"Greetings, to all of you. I humbly welcome you to the place of your death. Or will this be the place where you earn your freedom? That will be up to you to decide."  
Now there was no doubt in Koops' mind. The Reaper DID have a woman's voice.  
His suspicions were confirmed when the Reaper lowered their hood.  
Behind the dark hood was the face of a beautiful woman. She had pale, blond hair that fell over one of her blue eyes. There was some sort of necklace hanging from her neck, but Koops couldn't see what it was. However, the uncovered eye looked...weird. There was some sort of cyan symbol in it, as if it had been tattooed INTO her eye. It looked like some sort of Egyptian eye hieroglyphic.  
"Whoa!" Tiny exclaimed. "The Reaper's a woman!?"  
Jojora growled, "Who cares? We're still gonna kick her ass!"  
The Reaper smiled as if she were looking at a child who had just claimed that he wanted to ride a dragon for his birthday. "We'll see. I suppose there's no use stalling. Let's cut right to the chase, shall we?"  
A scythe appeared in her hands and she swung it threateningly. A few weapons appeared on the ground as well, and, though the five had no idea where they had come from, they wasted no time in picking them up.  
Bobbery claimed a wooden bat, Tiny claimed a hatchet, Jojora grabbed a katana, Mowz grabbed a dagger, and Koops grabbed a crowbar.  
Then they dashed at the Reaper, all attacking at once.  
She easily used the end of her scythe to spin and knock them all away. They fell back, but were far from finished. Bobbery was the first to charge at her again.  
As Koops was getting up and the others were fighting, he noticed Tiny staring at something at the other end of the room. She followed her gaze to see Mischief standing before a different door, taunting them. Instantly, Tiny ran for him, waving her hatchet in fury. Mischief ran through the door.  
"Tiny, wait!" Koops called, chasing after her.  
He caught up with her as they ran down another hallway.  
"Tiny, what are you doing? The fight's back there!"  
"Mischief has to pay." she said through gritted teeth. "He's the reason that three out of our five friends are dead! We have as much a reason to kill him as we do the Reaper!"  
Koops nodded slightly, agreeing with her after a bit of thought.  
"I swear, I'll make him pay." Tiny hissed. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll kill him!"  
After a bit more running, they found themselves in a small room. It was made out of stone, but nothing was in there.  
"Where is he?" Tiny shouted. "Where are you, bastard!?"  
Koops, realizing that something was wrong, turned around. That's when he saw Mischief drop silently from the ceiling, a machete in hand.  
"TINY, BEHIND-"  
Koops never finished his sentence.  
He watched in horror as Mischief leaped into the air and swung his weapon. Tiny's head detached from her body, a trail of blood spraying the room in a windmill fashion as it spun through the air. Mischief landed and turned to them, laughing at his handiwork.  
However, Tiny didn't fall. Shuffling like a zombie, her decapitated body stumbled forward, stunning both Mischief and Koops. Koops remembered her last words as it staggered forward, blood spurting from the headless neck.  
_'I swear, I'll make him pay. If it's the last thing I do, I'll kill him!'_  
It raised the hatchet as it approached the imp. Finally, it fell to its knees, the arm holding the hatchet coming down with it. The sharp edge buried itself in his head. The arm attached to the hatchet let go, and both bodies fell forward.  
Koops fell onto his hands and knees, vomiting. Seeing Tiny die in such a way...it was just too much for him to handle now. Everything he had seen, every horror he had experienced since he had been thrust into this terrible place, came rushing back to him. Yoshi, lying cold and stiff. Corpses hanging from a dark ceiling. Loopy and the grotesque Mario staring at him. Zombies chasing him. Toadette, her severed halves lying in a pool of blood. DK, wearing Mischief's mask, a long gash running down his back. A kid wearing a gas mask, every one of his deep breaths audible and amplified to a deafening degree. Goombella, lifeless, gas rising around her. His friends trapped in a flooding room, desperately searching for a way out. Mischief staring silently at him, his head cocked to the side, his creepy mask smiling at him. And finally, Tiny, her headless body shuffling like a zombie.  
Koops threw up again. He panted, finally noticing that tears were welling up in his eyes as well. He dropped his crowbar and sat back, letting his sobs fill the silent room.  
He didn't know how long he was there, but the only thing that brought him back to his senses was the blood leaking from Tiny's head that had reached his hand, covering his palm in its warm stickiness.  
He stood up, clutching his weapon tightly. He felt nothing but anger now. He was consumed by a blind fury that colored his vision red and caused him to shake from the pure, unbridled rage he was feeling.  
He would kill the Reaper. He would end this all. He would avenge each and every one of his friends who died in this game.  
Koops turned and left the room, only feeling a murderous intent.

7Z7Z7Z7

Bobbery lunged at the Reaper, swinging his weapon in a wide arc over his head. She dodged and knocked him back.  
The Reaper sighed and leaned on her scythe. "I thought three against one would be more of a challenge. Come on, you made it this far. Surely you all must be stronger than this."  
"Damn it, where did Tiny and Koops go...?" Bobbery panted, trying his hardest to stand up again.  
Jojora, equally exhausted, answered him. "I saw them chase after Mischief through some door. But we have bigger problems to deal with here, don't ya think?"  
"I just hope they don't get themselves killed. That little monster is crafty."  
"Are you just gonna stand there and chat, or are we going to keep fighting?" the Reaper taunted.  
Ms. Mowz rushed her from behind, but the Reaper turned around in a flash. She caught the thief's arm and tossed her into a nearby wall, sending the paintings crashing down on her.  
Jojora decided to attack, not wanting to give the Reaper too much time to recover.  
"Why the hell did you let us have weapons, huh?" Jojora asked, swinging her sword at the Reaper.  
The Reaper dodged and knocked her back, chuckling light heartedly. "Because, you wouldn't have a chance without them! Not like you have much of one now, anyways."  
Ms. Mowz, sensing an opportunity to strike, rushed forward, aiming a jab at the Reaper's chest. The Reaper spun around and deflected her blow, but Mowz managed to cut her arm.  
The Reaper clutched the wound and drew her hand away, surprised to see blood.  
"Very good." she complimented as if she were a teacher commending a student for a correct answer. "But don't think this means that I'll let up!"  
She spun and slashed at Ms. Mowz. Unprepared, she could only brace herself for the attack. Luckily, Bobbery managed to push her out of the way.  
"You gotta be more careful." he warned her. She nodded and they both stood up.  
Bobbery turned on the Reaper, brandishing his bat. "Come on! Do your worst!"  
The Reaper beckoned to him and he rushed at her. Bobbery swung his bat at a shocking speed and managed to hit the Reaper over the head with it. She growled and sliced at him. He ducked, but her weapon sliced through his bat. He glanced at it in surprise, giving the Reaper the opportunity to knock him back. Bobbery flew into the wall, and the Reaper bolted forward in a flash, slicing him with the scythe.  
Jojora and Mowz watched in horror as blood sprayed from the large slash in his chest.  
"BOBBERY!" Mowz screamed. She charged at the Reaper, who disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room.  
"Hahahahaha!" she cackled. "Ah, I knew the old timer wouldn't make it."  
Mowz and Jojora kneeled down in front of Bobbery. He was gasping for air, his eyes shifting between the two females.  
"Bobbery...Bobbery, come on! You can't die here!" Jojora said.  
"It's...fine..." he managed to say. "J-just...kill her..."  
He closed his eyes and his breathing slowed. Mowz sobbed, leaning on him. Even before Bobbery was dead, Jojora stood and turned to the Reaper, prepared to stab her.  
"I'll kill you!" the fairy shouted, about to charge towards the cackling woman.  
However, she was stopped when the Reaper suddenly howled in pain and fell over.  
Koops stood in a doorway behind her, a bloody crowbar in his hand, his face unreadable.  
"Koops...?" Jojora whispered in pure bewilderment. He no longer looked like his timid, quiet self. He seemed much more dangerous, and his eyes blazed with a powerful emotion. Hate.  
He bent down and started mercilessly beating the Reaper with his weapon. She resisted at first, but soon succumbed to every one of his blows, unable to fight through the barrage. He only stopped just before she was dead.  
He turned her over and lifted her up to his face by her neck.  
"Why did you do this to us?" Jojora was startled by the rage in his voice. "Why are we here? What is this 'original death game'?"  
The Reaper smiled and coughed up a bit of blood, almost unable to even speak.  
"You...I'm glad...y-you...beat me..." Her voice was almost a whisper. "I...knew you would...win..."  
"ANSWER ME!"  
"Heh...this...experiment...was a...success...Good luck...out there..."  
The Reaper drew one last breath and stopped moving. Koops dropped her, cursing under his breath.  
Jojora didn't know where to begin. She hadn't expected him to suddenly beat the Reaper to a bloody pulp. She hadn't expected him to save them.  
Saved...they were saved...  
The Reaper was dead. It was finally over.  
She wanted to ask what was wrong with Koops, how he had changed, why he looked so...menacing. But she decided against it. She knew the minds of criminals, and from the way Koops looked, he was thinking just like a serial killer.  
The most frightening thing, however, was that Koops seemed like he had been this way before. Somehow, at some point in time, most likely before the Reaper's game, he had become like this, an unfeeling killing machine that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. It didn't seem like he had remembered something, but rather unlocked some part of him that had been sealed away or intentionally forgotten through some sort of trauma. Either way, he had a killer's instinct now. That look in his eye...she had seen it too often before. Had she been working with some kind of criminal-some sort of monster-this whole time?  
She put aside that thought for the time being, content that she was on his side...she hoped...  
"K-Koops..." she started, fearing the answer to her next question. "Where's Tiny?"  
He shook his head, and she immediately understood.  
Mowz stood up, hiding her tear stained face from the others. "It's...finally over...isn't it? We're free?"  
As if in cue, a bluish light appeared on the bed.  
"What's that?" Jojora thought aloud.  
"Some kind of portal, probably." Koops' voice was hollow, contrasting greatly from his usually quiet, slightly cowardly demeanor.  
The three walked towards it, transfixed. Was it really all over?  
Koops felt something brush his hand. He looked to his left to see Jojora offering him her hand, her other one already grasping onto Ms. Mowz's. He accepted, and, together, the three survivors all stepped into the light.

7Z7Z7Z7

When the blinding light that washed over them had faded, they opened their eyes to find themselves in a different place.  
They were standing on a hill, an old, run-down house behind them. Koops assumed that they were behind the house, since all he could see was the back and a few windows.  
He looked down the hill and saw a large green field stretching on for miles. The sky was blue and white clouds floated above them. Not a sound could be heard, but the silence was serene, unlike the silence they had experienced in the house.  
"This is...the outside?" Mowz asked in wonder. She kneeled down, feeling the grass between her fingers. A smile broke across her face, and tears formed in her eyes. She looked up at Koops and jumped into his arms, hugging him. She was crying and laughing at the same time.  
"I can't believe we made it out! We really did it!"  
Koops smiled back, but there was still a twinge of sadness eating away at the back of his mind. If only their other friends could be here as well.  
"Guys," Jojora called. "I think you should see this."  
The two turned towards her. She had wandered a few feet away and was staring at something near the front of the house. She walked forward and out of their sight, and, out of curiosity, the other two followed.  
When they reached the front of the house, their jaws dropped.  
A huge city spread out before them. However, it was in ruins. Tall buildings were either caved in or on fire, their windows broken and doors boarded. Cars were abandoned in the streets. Trash and graffiti that was unreadable from such a distance was everywhere. The sky was gray and dark over the city. Shapes slowly moved in the distance. They were too far away to make out, but they seemed to be people.  
"What...what happened here?" Mowz said, her hand over her mouth.  
"I think it's obvious." Jojora said. "The world went to hell in a hand basket, and we missed it."  
"But how?"  
"I think I know why we were in there." Koops said, everything finally beginning to click into place. "Whatever happened here, the Reaper was preparing us for it. She put us through those trials as some sort of test, to see who would be worthy enough to survive in this world, and who wouldn't be able to survive."  
"How do you know that? What danger is there, anyway?"  
Koops tensed as he spotted one of the shapes moving closer to their position, slowly approaching the bottom of the hill.  
"Hey, check this out." He looked at Jojora, who was next to a table. There was a sheet of paper and a map on it.  
Jojora picked up the paper and read it aloud.  
"'If you're reading this, than you must have survived the House of the Reaper. I would say congratulations, but I doubt you'll like your prize, the freedom that you've acquired in this world. Now, the Reaper mentioned something about erasing Group B's memories, so, assuming you're part of Group B, you may not know what's going on. I wish I could tell you everything, but there's too much to say, and only so little time and space on this paper. I'll just tell you what you need to know.  
First off, avoid any one else you see. If you came from the house, you may have seen some zombie-like minsters in there. Those things are out here too. I hope none of you got bitten by those things, because they're as bad out here as they were in there.  
Millions of people have died, and the last remnants of civilization are gathering on an island off the coast of the BeanBean kingdom, an island know as Isle Delfino. Use the map we left to head for that place. That's where we're heading, the only safe place left.  
Also, DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, approach the Infected. They will attack you, and they will kill you. There is no cure. If someone gets bitten, save them from their torture. Kill them.  
Second thing, get weapons. Bats, swords, axes, clubs, anything you can get your hands on. Get guns too, but only use them as a last resort. Scavenge for food and head to Isle Delfino. This is all we can do for you now. Godspeed.  
Former victims,  
Kori, James, and Elise'"  
Mowz instantly recognized the names, but said nothing.  
"You have GOT to be KIDDING me!" Jojora shouted. "We finally get out of there, and we have to go through THIS shit!?"  
"Out of the frying pan and into the fire." Koops said wistfully, staring out over the city.  
There was a moment of silence. It was broken by Ms. Mowz. "What...do we do now?"  
Koops tightened his grip on the crowbar he had kept and stared at the small group of figures shuffling up the hill towards them. He had come to a conclusion. He didn't want to know about the past. It didn't matter any more. Nothing mattered to him now except to survive and to protect his two friends. He had decided to forget about the mysteries of the house, forget about the horrors he faced in there. But not the friends he lost. No, he would make sure that he lived on for them. He would even fix this world if he could. He would rid the world of this plague, one enemy at a time, for the memory of his friends, and for the freedom that they had been denied. The past was irrelevant. The future was all he could change.  
"We do the only thing we can do now. We walk through a different hell, and pray that we survive."

**Well, it's finally over! So, what did you think? Yeah, I wasn't too sure about the ending, but it's what I had planned the whole time, plus this leads me to my second point.**

**This story actually ties in with two other stories I have planned. Not really deeply, but think of it like they all sort of take place in the same universe.**

**_Hope in Hell_: The first follows my OCs, Kori, James, Elise, and another not mentioned in this story, Wally, as they make their way to Isle Delfino during the events of House of the Reaper, fighting through Infected and other trials that stand in their way. It's a zombie fic, so if any of you are into that, that's one choice.**

**_Death is but a Game_: This choice is sort of the prequel to both of these stories. I don't want to give too much away, but it sort of explains the house and the post apocalyptic scene at the end of this story, plus some other stuff. Basically, there's an apocalypse on its way, and about fifteen characters are chosen as potential candidates to survive it. The winner is chosen through a special competition. That's all I'm saying here.**

**I have more planned for Hope in Hell, but I think I can get to writing either story if it's voted for. I'll put a poll up so you guys can vote.**

**BTW: In case any of you were wondering about the alternate ending for this fic, let me summarize it for you since I don't want to write it.**

**The group keeps going straight until they end up in a giant room. It's filled with balloons. The Reaper congratulates them on getting so far and says that there is one final test. She lights a balloon on fire and it turns out is was filled with hydrogen. It explodes and causes other balloons to explode. The room catches fire and the group runs to the exit at the other end. They end up losing Ms. Mowz to the fire along the way. They flip a switch to open a gate, but Mischief turns it off. Bobbery runs back, sacrificing himself. He flips the switch again and fights Mischief, knocking off his mask to reveal that he's actually Toad. They stand there for a moment, both puzzled, Toad sane again and wondering what is happening. But before they can move, they are both crushed by a burning rafter. The Reaper watches as the last three survivors, Tiny, Koops, and Jojora, leave, pondering what she should tweak in her next experiment. (Then the ending is practically the same from there).**

**Anyways, it's been a great time writing this story, but I couldn't have done it without all of you awesome fans. Thanks to all of you who favorited, followed, and especially to those who reviewed. Thank you all, and I hope to see you all again in my next story.**

**-booMshrooM**


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